I should probably post more often

I wonder if they will archive me and shut this thing down if I don't get here now and then?

Pics

I've been meaning to get over here and get some blogging done:)

I frightened a mama quail off her nest when I was weeding a few days ago.  Unfortunately, she did not return so I got this picture of her nest. with eggs.

This is the "pine grove" area of the yard.  The purple flowers are pennstemmons.  There are sonme wild roses in this area, as well.

The Vet

First of all it was 32 chilly degrees out this morning.  Should be warming up fromnow on but this is Northern Nevada so no guarantees.

The vet came out today.  Wiseguy was a perfect gentleman.  Held still for the stethoscope   I showed him a carrot and fed him a carrot while he was getting his shot and he barely flinched.

The vet says Wiseguy is in great shape and has good muscles.  He also says the feet look good.

We are getting a worm count fecal analysis.  It's the modern way to worm.  Results will be coming in the mail.

I asked a bunch of questions.

Spot the Goat was looked at.  He has something gruesome on his butt.  Looks like squamous cell carcinoma to the vet.  He can't be positieve without a biopsy He says we can slice it off but....

I say we need to be practical.  I add that I sometimes wonder if we do the right thing for animals when they have cancer and we start doing procedures.  After all, they really don't understand what you are doing to them.  He concurs.

Spot will be going to the Big Goat Hut in the Sky when he starts looking thin or if he starts looking like he is in pain too much.  Kinda sad.

Update

35 degrees overnight.

Mid sixties yesterday and a bit of gusty wind.  Not bad.

Should be in the sixties again today.

Peas are up and dong fine.

We got the 50 gal pond out of the backyard yesterday and into the front "rocky stream bed".  Today I have to put the spirea back in that we had to move.  I think I will remove a goldenrod and toss it.  They aren't my favorite and they are trying to spread around the yard a bit.

I need to landscape the area with the dirt a bit height in the back towards the house and a pipe to direct overflowing pond water away from the house.  I dug a low spot but I think a pipe wouldn't hurt.  It will be covered in rocks.

I will be finishing the landscaping cloth and Hubby is going to haul some large rocks from where the pond was in the back to cover the pond area landscape cloth.

My plan for the pond is to get the milk crate back in there, set up the pump and use some flat rocks to build it up to a nice level for little birds to get a drink from and take baths.

Speaking of birds, I'm expecting our first hummingbirds around May 1st.  We shall see.

Oh, I'm looking into getting Wiseguy a friend.  I found an eligible bachelor through my mini horse website.  Awaiting photos.  He is an appaloosa gelding, 34 or maybe a bit more inches tall and nine years old.  I can get him professionally started in harness before bringing him home.  There is  a great trainer that lives near by to the gal that owns the horse.  The horse is in Utah and would be about an 8 hour drive to go and see.

Much warmer overnight

It was much warmer overnight at 37 degrees.  Looks like not too much damage from the 26 degrees Thursday morning.

Every year there are certain weeds that come on strong.  This year it is dwarf lupines.  Poisonous so I walk around our 5 acres at especially look for those while I work my hoe.

Last year it was desert dandelions.  The year before that was mustard.  Weird, huh.  I think it has to do with the timing of the rains.

Below Freezing

26 degrees at 6am.  Way cold.  I can only go out and survey the damage later when it warms up enough for me to want to be outside.

After skirting disaster for two nights in a row, this third night was the charm.  We went very cold.  There is a warming trend on its way.  I hope it will be warmer tonight.

It is already above freezing.  34 degrees at 7:45am.  Hoping for the best.  Fearing the worst:)

Cold

The weather has gone cold.

Yesterday the temperature dropped from 50 degrees to 37 degrees prompting much wailing and gnashing of teeth over just how cold would we go.

The answer 34 degrees and at 8am it is still 34 degrees.

Sadly, we may get colder tonight and tomorrow night.  We shall see.

Peas are up and quite a few trees and shrubs have leaves coming out.  All I can do is hope for the best.

Still cloudy and windy out there right now.

Mosquito trap

Found this on Facebook.  I'm going to try it.

What we need is basically:
200 ml water
50 grams of brown sugar,
1 gram of yeast (yeast bread, found in any supermarket) and a 2-liter plastic bottle. [...]

How to:
One. Cut the plastic bottle (PET type) in half. Storing the neck portion:
2nd. Mix brown sugar with hot water. Let cool. When cold, pour in the bottom half of the bottle.
3rd. Add the yeast. No need to mix. It creates carbon dioxide.
4th. Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle.
5th. Wrap the bottle with something black, minus the top, and put in some corner of your house.

In two weeks you will see the amount of mosquitoes and mosquitoes who died inside the bottle.

In addition to cleaning their homes, breeding sites of mosquitoes and mosquitoes, we can use this method very useful in: Schools, Nurseries, Hospitals, homes, ranches, farms, ranches, nurseries. etc. Do not forget Dengue in the coming months: this mosquito can kill a person! from salve o planeta (spanish)

Garden Notes

Planted carrots, onion bulbs, pak choi, lettuce and rads in the garden over the weekend.

Raining today.  Overnight of 35 degrees.  Should be in the fifties later today.

All the peas are coming up.

Worried about it freezing overnight for the next couple of nights.  We shall see.

Rain

Rained last night.  Warm overnight in the low 40's.  Cloudy and only 45 degrees and 11am although the sun may be breaking through.

I made a fire in the woodstove to take the chill off the house.  I keep saying this will be the last fire of the season:)

30 degrees! Ackkk!!!

At 5:30am it was 32 degrees.  At 5:45 it was 31 degrees.  At 6:00am it was 30 degrees.  OMG!  I am so wishing the sun would come up now!!!!

Fortunately the sun arrived before it went any colder and it looks like our trees are okay...so far.  I'll keep checking as I go around the property.

Warming up nicely.

Spring?

Had a scare last night.  Went to 34 degrees but the weather was reporting it could go to 30 degrees.  I am so hoping we don't get one of our horrible cold nights.  I have trees with leaves popping out and fruit trees blooming.  One year it set us back so much when it froze since the trees all had to get new leaves after already getting their new leaves that got froze off:(

Penny is limping and there is no obvious problem.  I think she may have messed up her shoulder jumping off the table in the breezeway.  She would get up there using a chair but then jump off without using the chair and three feet is a long way for a little doggy to jump.

Yesterday was very windy and it snowed but of course it didn't stick.  The hills and the mountains got some real snow though.  Today should be in the fifties and then it will be warming up a bit for the rest of the week.

Little projects need to get done like cutting down the one last clump of grass I missed during winter cleanup. I need to plant some lettuce.  Make sure the fruit tree area gets some water today.

Did I mention that I finally got the strawberries transplanted on Sunday?  We may not get strawberries this year because I should have done that last fall.  I also got my baby onion plants in on Saturday but I found out I also ordered onion sets so those need to go in.  I want to plant some lettuce and carrots and radishes in the main garden as well.

I got an appointment for the vet to come out in two weeks.  Wiseguy needs his shots and deworming.

Catching Up!

Friday I cleaned a house.  Then I went to the grocery store while I was in town.  I also got a bale of alfalfa.  I decided to get three buckets of rocks on the way home.

Yesterday, Hubby and I went out to finish the last of the yard clean up.  I raked.  He used the fire stick.  We didn't make it all the way to the front but we did pretty good.  I was so tired from Friday that I had to quit.  So, one more rake and burn and we should be done.  Sometime in May is our last burn day so we have about 3 weekends left to do this.

I cleaned up the kitchen which really needed it and collapsed on the couch.  Too much physical labor is too much.  Today, I am resting up for the big day tomorrow.  1 1/2 cleaning jobs, getting into Carson City to buy glasses.  Home Depot to look at ponds.  That will be plenty.

Looks windy today and tomorrow and the lows are going to be as low as 34 degrees.  Sure hope we don't get a real freeze.

Seeds Started Indoors

Yeah, I probably should have got the seeds going a bit sooner but I had technical problems.  My seed mix was so dry I had to rehydrate for a couple of days.

Tango Celery [Hubby and laughed so hard at that since celery probably likes moist and we live in a desert. I        
         couldn't resist so I bought it.]

Broccoli

New Early Girl Tomatoes

Cauliflower

Cayenne Peppers

Spring Photos

This is my front of the house project where I am taking the sprinklers off this area and using these old wine barrels for flowers.  I put down layers of news paper to block weeds and then landscape cloth.  I installed the barrels and I am hauling rocks in from the hills one load at a time to cover the landscape cloth.

The daffodils are blooming.

The cherry tree is blooming.

I love spring.

Yesterday I managed to transplant some baby sages and do a little more yard clean up.  What I didn't do was anything to keep the inside of the house up so I guess I better work on that today.

Spring...it's official

Looks like spring is here although we could get a night or two below freezing still.

The weather is fantastic this year.  I am trying to be outside to enjoy it.

I drove into Carson City for the BIG shopping trip.  We have been very conservative with our grocery dollars.  After awhile, it gets a little dreary.  I splurged and got the 4# bacon pack.  We have had some Del Monte green beans in a can to use up and I must say I don't like the flavor.  We don't eat a lot of canned goods but since we need to be stocked up in case of an emergency, we do have some.  That means trying to use them up every once in awhile. This time of year there aren't many fresh veggies at the store so now is the time.

Anyway, I am going to do some bacon and almond with green beans to see if I can spark those canned green beans up to a more edible level.

I love bacon on my venison burgers.  This venison has a stronger flavor than some and the bacon is a good counterpoint.

I also bought frozen shrimp.  Yep, decadent at $12 for 2 pounds but hey, you only live once:) And we will get two dinners out of that.  I got the small ones even though I like the big ones.  The big ones were $19.   Out here in Nevada, I prefer frozen seafood.  You know it isn't fresh when you buy it at the store.  We live hours  from the ocean.


Today I have lots to get done.  I bought pansies and snaps to put in the new barrel set up out front.  Oh, and some Dahlia roots for the summer.  Should look great!

Get 'er done!  Looks great.  I must get a photo.  I also got the automatic drip water onto the barrels.

I need more rocks so that I can keep filling in this area.  I need to finish the end of the front area.  It's about 7' by 6' so I will lay newspaper down to smother the light and the landscape cloth on top of that.  That should take care of the weeds.  Then, rocks to hold it down and protect the landscape cloth from the wind and the sun.

I really must start seeds indoors today!  Petunias, peppers and tomatoes.  The greenhouse is still a bit cold overnight but doing much better.

The list goes on!!!

Got the baby onion plants in and the water running on them.

No Fooling Around!

This is April 1st and is All Fool's Day but...this is spring and there is no time for fooling around:)

I've never been much of a prankster.  Hope no one pranks me today.

We got 4/100 of an inch of rain yesterday.  Yeah!.  Not much by non desert standards but pleny of help for my rice grass.  I swear the willow tree got three time greener.  It is budding out right now.

The temps are cooler but so far above freezing at night.  We are a bit worried about this week as we are being threatened by some fairly cold overnight lows just as the fruit trees are thinking about blooming.  Arghh!!!!

Peas, peas, peas!

I planted the peas this morning.

40 foot rows, three kinds

Sugar Pod Peas
Snap Peas
Garden Peas

Overnight low of 60 degrees.

Yesterday's high was 70.  Nice!!!!

Temps

Overnight low of 35 degrees.  Chilly this morning.

I expect we'll get into the mid sixties.

Rain

It rained overnight.

Sure, it wasn't much by the rest of the country's standards but it will be just enough to boost rice grass production.

Unfortunately, it will also be just enough to boost weed production, too.

I got the newspaper and landscape cloth laid out in the front.  Hubby moved the 1/2 wine barrels over after I emptied them.  I'm going to do flowers in the barrels on drip instead of having sprayers in the front.  I'd like to do a pond out there as well at the end of the boardwalk.  Maybe a seer ball with water trickling over it or a rock with a hole in it and water spewing out the top.  Some gold fish would be nice.

Really warm overnight at 45 degrees.  Cloudy but 60 already today.

I have to go.  The homemade hamburger buns need to go into the oven:)

Productive Weekend

We had a fairly productive weekend.

Hubby stacked a bunch of  wood that has been sitting in two large piles with assorted cherry and poplar and elm sitting in small piles around the two large piles.  He's wheel barrowing the cut firewood into the shed and stacking it.

Looks like we used about 1 1/2 cords of wood over the winter.  It was a pretty mild winter.  This is our second year of having a wood stove for the winter.

In fact, I am running the wood stove again this morning but only for a couple of hours.  It wasn't super cold in here - 68 degrees.  At first I was going to tough it out because the house was definitely chilly but, hey, 68 degrees inside, 48 degrees outside, high of 60 or even 64 degrees later today, how bad can it be?

I certainly would have toughed it out when I was running the propane for heat.  I realized that I don't have to be tough.  Wood is inexpensive.  By taking the chill off the house, I live comfortably.  Is that such a bad thing?

I am running the water in the East Zone already this morning.  We really do have to keep up on the watering around here.  I need to go out an fix one or two leaks in the system.  I usually get at least a little bit wet.  Coming in to a warm house will be nice!!!

Over the weekend, Hubby also re-rototilled the area I want to put the peas in and the area that I am putting the strawberries in.  I should have moved the strawberries last fall but I ran out of time or oomph or both:)  So, moving them now will be my next best option.

Of course, there is a whole list of projects to get done but I think I will just try to prioritize and do the best I can.

The iris are coming up and some of the daylilies are, as well.  We have our first daffodil blooming.  The forsythia is blooming.  They are still quite small.  Maybe next year they will be big enough to really put on a show.

Temps

26 degrees for the low
51 for the high

Inside the greenhouse this morning was 48 degrees - not bad

The lettuce and rads are coming up in my greenhouse planters.  Too cool.

Windy

The day is turning windy.

Overnight has been pretty warm at 48 degrees or so last couple of nights.  Will not last.

I brought in the seed starting materials so that I won't have to work with cold trays, potting soil and such.  Any day now I will be starting  my first batch of seeds.  Maybe petunias:)  Definitely tomatoes.

Cleaning up the Long Shed.  Straightening out the irrigation supplies.  So far, I don't think we will have to buy any irrigation supplies.  Yay!!!  Get to spend that money somewhere else.  Looks like I won't have to buy any seed starting supplies either.l

Lettuce and Rads

Yep, today we got some lettuce and radishes started in the greenhouse.  This is the first year we have done this.  I put some planter boxes on the ground, filled them with potting soil and watered in the seeds.  Let's see how our little experiment goes.  Overnight in the greenhouse has bee about 44 to 46 degrees.

It has been above freezing overnight for a couple of nights in a row. Yea!  70 degrees for the high today.

Finished transplanting the mums and the iris today.

Tomorrow Hubby and I need to clean the house since his folks are coming for early dinner.

Spring is Springing

The weather has been fabulous for the last several days.  High sixties.  Could be very temporary but enjoying it while it lasts.

Hubby carried the fifteen panels and the gate out to the back area where we are putting up the round pen.

He positioned the panels one at a time while I put the saddle clamps together on the uprights.  The project was done in about four hours.

We brought Wiseguy in and the first thing he did was lay down and get a good roll in the sand.

Then he snuffled the area with his adorable big nostrils.

He had a good run around the pen in both directions.  He had a great time.

After awhile I called him over to me and he came right over.  I was so pleased.  I didn't want him to over do it for his first real chance to run since I got him almost a year ago.

Time sure flies.  I brought my cute little guy home one year ago at the end of April.

Greenhouse

I noticed a huge hole in the foundation so I plugged it up and was hoping the temp in the greenhouse would be better this morning.  The foundation is dirt.  So, the temperature inside was better but still cold.

21 degrees outside

36 degrees inside.

More rocks:)  Should start improving as I get the rocks in there to soak up heat during the daytime and I will go on the outside to day and shove some more dirt in.  I may need to fix the plastic.  I was hoping not to spend the money:)

Looks like another sunny day.

Spring is Coming Fast

This happens every year.  Spring is suddenly pouncing.  Sure, we still have cold nights and a few cold, windy days ahead but today is lovely.  34 degrees overnight.  Should be well into the fifties. Only a bit of a breeze.  Nice.

The greenhouse was only 40 degrees this morning.  Still too cold to do much but...I think I can plant lettuce in a couple of more days.  We had a couple of really cloudy days in a row and the door wide open while I was working on the interior.  Now that it is sunny, we should get some heating in there.

I am bringing some more dark racks into the space to help soak up the heat in the day time.  I have a barrel of water to fill.  That should help with the overnight temps.  We shall see.

I worked really hard to get the new ventilation door done.  Hubby did the real work on that but I insulated it and worked on getting the planter boxes set up and the shelving in and the rocks in.  A few more loads of rocks over the next couple of days.  I have to spread that out since it is very hard on my arms and shoulders.


We went to Fallon and we bought our round pen!!!!!   I am so very excited.  Wiseguy and I are going to enjoy our new adventure.  We can't use the cart in there because the sand is too soft but we can do lunging and trying the harness and different things.  Maybe even teach him a couple of tricks.

The panels are supposed to be delivered on Wednesday.  By sheer luck, Hubby will be off that day so he can help unload.  That saves my puny little arms a lot of strain.  Yay!

I am transplanting chrysanthemums and getting rid of some of those golden rods.  The golden rods are trying to take over the world.  Not too happy about that.

That should be enough for one or even two days:)

The farrier was here yesterday.  He has a new lady working for him.  He is a very good farrier so I trust him on his judgement for hiring in a new person.  I met the gal, raven, and she is very nice.  She likes doing miniature horse feet so that is good.

Miniature Go Round

The cutest little miniature horse in the west and I are doing lunging.  He knows what he is doing and I don't but we did a few circles and a couple of whoas in each direction while Hubby took our photos.  Wiseguy is very patient since I am still trying to figure out which hand is doing what:)

Mantis Tiller

I am thrilled to be the proud owner of a Mantis tiller.  Hubby and I went to the chainsaw shop the other day. Okay, Hubby went to the chainsaw shop and I was with him.  Then I saw it, the Mantis tiller.  

We had looked at a tiller when we were at the Cal Ranch store in town earlier in the day.  I didn't like it much.  It was a Stihl.  It was selling for almost $400.

This used Matis was $60.  Of course, I have Hubby who knows how to fix small engines and machines of various types.  He sure helps us keep the costs down around here.

That would be Rusty the Red Dog helping me with the tiller.

Greenhouse Refreshed

This is what happened over the winter.  The plastic has been up for  three years?  Maybe four.  The sunlight has rotted the plastic.  This is the east side of the greenhouse.

This is the west side of the greenhouse.  You can see that the plastic has rotted where the sunlight shines directly on the plastic.

You can see my flimsy support piece in the middle of the wall.

These two photos show you how we insulated the walls.  It's been working great.

We used a roll of insulation on the ceiling since we could staple it up.  I found the insulation in front of the home improvement store on super mark down since it was out of its wrapper.  Still, insulation was pretty expensive and straw was $8 a bale and I probably used 2 bales.

Here is a photo of the west side with the shade cloth going up.  The shade cloth has been repurposed several times.  First it covered a friends horse pen.  Then it did several miscellaneous jobs around here for a few years.  It is getting to be in sad shape but I decided it could be used in the greenhouse for its final incarnation.

Here is another item being repurposed.  It was the legs on a cheesy table I made for the back patio.  That table was in use for about 7 years but I finally decided it was too rickety to put potted plants on so I busted the table apart.  Anything too small is being burned in the wood stove but the bigger pieces are being reused..

There is our table leg as a sturdier support for the shelving in the green house.

Here is the east wall with the repurposed shade cloth almost covering the entire wall.  A few more staples and it will be done:)

This is a to be continued spring saga.

A quick note on the weather.  The overnight low was mid-forties.  It is cloudy and raining!!!!!  When you live in the desert rain is a very good thing.  The rice grasses would so appreciate getting some real moisture.  I hope it just keeps raining.  This is not a hard rain but a gentle warm rain.  

I'm baking banana bread.  I had to cheat and put a little melon from the freezer in it since I was a bit short on bananas.  I like to take the over ripe bananas and throw them in the freezer.  When I have a bunch of them, i thaw them out and make banana bread.

Spring is in the Air!

Well, it feels a lot warmer out there.  Overnight lows of 28 and 31 degrees last few nights.  Highs in the upper fifties and low sixties.  Nice.

Plenty to do around here as usual.  March could be windy so I guess I better get as much soon as possible on the nice days:)

I'm going to chip away at the greenhouse.  I have some old shade screen cloth that is in good shape so I think I will get out the staple gun and use it to fix up the sides where the plastic covering the straw has deteriorated.  If I get lucky I'll find the staple gun and the staples quickly.  Hope so anyway.

I am planning a "door"  in the north side of the greenhouse and I have an old screen that I want to fit into the opening so I have to see if that will work.  Hubby is actually going to measure and cut the hole for the ventilation door on his next days off.

I have to figure out what I am going to do to fix the straw slumping problem on the north side as well.  I have lot of old string board.  I might use that on the bottom half, stuff straw in between the studs to insulate the wall and then I can use plastic on the top only.  That would probably work.

I'll try to take some photos today.

Greenhouse

The greenhouse is sort of a mess.  The straw has been slumping down inside the greenhouse, behind the plastic on the entire back side.  This is the insulation.

On the sides where the light hits, the plastic is totally deteriorating.  Got the little bits of junk that has accumulated out.  Got a bunch of the straw out.  Now working on the plan to fix this mess.

I also want to put a larger portal in the back on back side which  the coool and shady north side so that we can have more cool air circulation when it is hot out.

Hubby got the straw that has been collecting all winter from the goat pen clean outs rototilled into the veggie garden.  We need it to decompose before we start planting.

Mini-go-round

Here's Wiseguy!

Electronic Cigarettes and I

I've been using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking and it is working.  The are also called e cigs or Personal Vapers [PVs].

This is a fancy tank made from Pyrex and then a frosted blue design of a dragonfly was etched into it.

This one is painted.  So pretty.

These are some rather high tech PVs with the tanks sitting on top.

This is such a safer form of nicotine than cigarettes.  It is fiddley and you have to have batteries and machines and bits and pieces to get your nic.  Much easier to light up a ciggie.  The thing is that smoking is so bad for your circulatory system, not to mention your lungs.

I always liked smoking but this has been an excellent substitute.  You don't have to get fancy like I did.  You can just use the cute little ones that are about cigarette sized.  I might have to take a photo of some of those and put those up on my next post.

Nicotine isn't actually all that bad for you.  It's even good for some medical conditions.  It's the burning tobacco being inhaled that cause 99% of the negative health effects.

Happy vaping to all:)

Cold Nights but warmer days

Mid twenties at night and mid fifties in the daytime.

I am finally almost done with yard clean up and burning.

Time to start sorting out the shed and the seed starting supplies but only because it takes me two weeks to do anything:)

Wiseguy and I are doing great together.  It is nice to see us developing as a horse and owner team.

Adventures with Wiseguy

I didn't latch the gate when I went into the pen and the wind blew the gate open. Wiseguy said "Now's my chance." He trotted right on outta there. First stop was the hay shed. The doors are closed but there are tasty crumbs by the door. I walk over with the halter and lead rope so he runs back to the pen.

I calmly walk towards the pen and he runs back out again, kicking up his heels and having a good ole time.

I lock the dogs up and grab a carrot. 

He snorts at the carrot like it is a dangerous weapon and runs.

We do that several times with assorted head tossing and wild eyed looks and a couple of bucks thrown in for good measure. Nothing too wild just feeling good about getting out and running.

The last time he arcs out into the back area, makes a big loop, gallops by the propane tank and up the driveway. He zooms around the hay shed and back to his pen.

As soon as I get close he comes out the gate again but I have him cornered now I dodge to the left swinging the rope. He turns to the right but there is fencing to keep in from running to the back. He swerves and trots to the left. I dodge to the left again with the arm out and the rope swinging. He feints to the right but I dodge to the right while I laugh at his wily ways.

He gets into the pen and I jog over and close the gate. It is a win for the owner in only 15 minutes.

Yard Clean up Continues

Well, I burnt two piles of brush today.  I have to work on the East side.  If I finish that up I am done with the front half of the property.  Shouldn't be too much on the back 2 or so acres.  I'd like to be wrapping yard clean up UP.  I have other projects that I would like to start on soon.

Overcast today with no wind and only in the forties.  Low was mid twenties.

Friday

Well, the yard is coming along.  I am still out there with the hedge trimmer trying to get the bunch grasses lopped off in time for the spring green up.

I worked on the drip system but I noticed that I still have a few leaks in the south or fruit tree zone so I'll be back at it again this weekend - if the weather holds out.

24 over night but 50 today.  Nice!!!!!!

Cleaned up the goat pen and the horse pen yesterday.

Hubby and I burned the weeds that have blown in along the outside of the fence.  We got a weed burner.  Boy, do I like that thing.  I might have to try it out on the green weeds as they come up this spring.  I'm getting tired of trying to hoe five acres.

Spring is coming at us like a freight train but I think we are doing pretty good.  Hubby got the grapevines pruned and most of the fruit trees.  He still needs to tackle the apple in front of the living room window.  I want to few the world from underneath the branches not through the branches:)

Our trees are still growing and, although a lot of them have a long way to go, it looks like they will put on some size again this year.  We have several pine trees that are hitting 6' tall.  That is progress.

Hubby trapped not one but two gophers out of the fruit tree area.  Those little devils.  I am wondering if a rabbit is in the yard since I see some sort of damage on my cute little popular tree near the goat pen.  I might have to get some chicken wire out there because that tree is only one years old and can't take much nibbling.

Wednesday

Overnight low of 26

Should be windy later.

I heard it is going to warm up in a day or two although it will still be freezing overnight.

No burning today but I can go out and do some yard trimming so that I can get ahead of the curve a little.

Gophers

I decided to water today since the weather had stayed above freezing overnight.  I started with the fruit tree zone since it was almost guaranteed to be completely thawed out.  I had to check all the lines and the drippers since this zone is pretty temperamental and you have to have no leaks for it to be watering correctly.

I get over towards the street and...to my great horror....giant mounds of dirt...yep, gophers.

Hubby to the rescue.  Since the ground here is pure sand, he digs down to the runways and then sets traps.  He always gets his gopher.  Let's hope he gets this one soon.  Personally, I think it is two gophers but he is sure that it is one gopher patrolling a fairly large area.  The area in question is about 100 feet by 75 feet.  We shall see.

Penny the Pembroke Welsh Corgi helped by digging holes nearby.  She sure is cute snuffling in the dirt.  She listens with her big ears and then starts digging again.  She never gets her rodent but she always looks adorable trying.

Overnight low 39

High 50

A bit windy early in the day but nice towards the late afternoon.

Sunday

For several years I made the effort to go to church on Sundays.  When that church wasn't making sense, I tried several more churches.  In the end, none of them made any more sense than the others.

I could have switched from Christianity to another religion.  There are plenty available but after giving it some thought, I decided to just stay home on Sundays and enjoy my secular life.  I am no less moral but I am a lot happier.

It is snowing just a bit but it isn't sticking.  We are right at freezing but the temp should go up a bit as the day goes on.

I brought a wheel barrow load of wood in early, on my way back in from feeding the goats and the horse.

I haven't felt really well for several days but I can't really say I am sick either.  I think I am fighting off the flu but, who knows?  Maybe it is just the mid winter blahs:)

I have been using the hedge trimmer to cut down spindle bushes [official name Purple Smoke bushes].  They are nothing like Purple Smoke Trees.  These are odd spindly desert plants that have purple blooms on them in the late spring.

I also like to lop of the dead rice grass so that the new growth in the spring can take off.  Grasses appreciate a hair cut and at least with the bunch grasses you can do that once a year during the winter time.  Not like a lawn where you have to get out the mower every week.

Looks like I need to bake bread today.  I'm going to try a little less salt and see if the bread will rise a bit faster.

Rain

Looks like it rained overnight.  Fantastic.  We really need it since we haven't had but one set of snowstorms.

34 degrees overnight so above freezing.  Cloudy.

I'm pretty sure I don't feel top drawer and I am worried I might be fighting off the flu.  Little sore throat, bit of a headache.  Slept late.  Hope i do not get the flu, I do not like being sick.

Still Burning

Overnight low of 24

High today of 45

Warm enough to stand out in the pen with the little horse for a bit and enjoy his company.

I cut some more spindle bushes and grasses and burned one pile.

The pile of brush had a bunch of grapevines that Hubby pruned out yesterday and it would not burn!!!!  Going to have to let that one dry out a bit before I try it again.

Burn Season

It's burn season and thankfully we got a little snow this year.  Last year was so dry I was afraid to burn.

I cut down the grasses and the spindle bushes.  Hubby and I trim the trees and the grape vines and the berry plants.  It's five acres so it takes some effort.

We burned four more small piles of garden duff and brush today.  I got a start on tomorrow by cutting grasses and irises and spindle bushes in the front street side area.  Hopefully, since we didn't have much plant growth last year, we'll be wrapping this up before too long.

12 degrees overnight

Low forties for our high

Bread

I've been baking bread and it has mostly been pretty tastey but it is taking soooo long to rise.  Especially that last proof in the pan.  Two rises and then proofing.  Hubby says the recipe from Betty Crocker has too much salt.  It has 1 Tablespoon in 7 cups of flour.  Guess I'll just keep working at it.

6 degrees last night and it made 46 degrees for our high today.  It certainly didn't seem that warm out.

Yet another burn day...

I called the Burn Line and they said it is a permissible burn day.

6 degrees when I got up today.  I slept late so it was a little after dawn.

We are already up to 24 degrees so maybe we will get above freezing again today.  Although it wasn't much above freezing yesterday at 34 degrees:)

So, I got the last short flower bed on the back berm cleaned out.  And I cleaned out some more of the East End garden.  Lots of dead iris, brown grasses and such.

That is two large burn piles done!!!

I just whack everything down to the ground.  Nothing fancy going on there.

Turns out I had to do poop patrol.  I thought I had cleaned up that East End pretty good in the fall but apparently not.  It isn't a glamorous job but somebody had to do it.

Warming Trend

We are on a warming trend.  7 degrees or so last couple of nights and above freezing for the daytime highs.

Today was 43 degrees but the sun is going down soon and the temp is already falling.

It's sunny but it sure isn't warm.

Yesterday, Hubby and I burnt four brush piles.  Today I got out there and with the hedge trimmer and cut down some more of the Saskatoon grass and cleaned out some more of the back flower bed.  I burnt the duff.  So much easier than composting all of it.

Plenty more to do in the flower beds and I want to get them done so I can realize my vision of revision on the East side of the house this spring and finish up the project I started over a year ago out front.

We'll see.

Why I Like Living Here

This afternoon the temp was up to above freezing so I went out to get a few chores taken care of.

I stopped by the little horse pen with my bucket of grooming supplies.  I got the little fella out.  He likes getting out of his pen.  I brushed him and cooed at him and combed his mane and tail.  I cleaned his tiny little hooves.

I gave him his senior food pellets and wheeled the wheel barrow in and started raking up the pen.

So peaceful and quiet and pleasant.  That's why I like living here.  Warm breath and honest work and soft sounds on a cold sunny afternoon.

Once I was done cleaning pens and feeding the horse and the goats, I fired up the hedge trimmer.  Another great reason to like living here.  Loud and obnoxious but making quick work of the grasses and brush in the back garden.  Next, raking it all up and having a burn day:)

  I have high hopes for the spring and summer to come.  The plants will be blooming and veggies will be bursting forth and the trees will all be getting taller.  Oh, how we gardeners love to dream the winter months away.

Cold Again!

8 degrees out at dawn.

28 degrees - yesterday's high.

The little horse seems to be fine even with it so cold out.

Cold weather equals having to haul hot water out to the goat pen and the horse twice a day.  More if the sun doesn't come out.

Minus One Degree

It is -1 degree outside.

That's cold.

Fortunately the sun will be up soon.

We have a couple of more days of very cold weather.

When it is cold out I have to haul buckets of hot water out to the goats and the horse.  When it is this cold out I have to haul buckets of water out two or three times a day.

The horse has been fine so far but this will certainly be his coldest night yet since I got him last April.  I see that it is supposed to be -21 in Elko where he used to live.

Still Cold

7 degrees this morning.  Pogonip for Hubby's drive to work.  It was so thick he missed his turn off and had to turn around at an intersection further south on the highway.

27 degrees for the high this afternoon.

This is Hubby's sixth day in a row so I bet he is more than ready to gt off work and come home to our nice warm house.

I got out the hedge trimmer again to day.  I can only do about 20 minutes at a time.  That thing is hard on my puny little arms and my back.  Trying to get the yard neatened up for spring.

Cleaned the goat pen and the horse pen.  I got behind on the goat pen during the cold weather so I'll have to do three more wheel barrow loads tomorrow.

Hope everyone is having an okay winter.  The cold weather kind of sucks but at least most of that little bit of snow we got is melting away.  How it is doing that with our ridiculous cold, I don't know.

Wiseguy got his feet trimmed Thursday.  He such a good little horse.

Cold Weather

Well, it is 27 degrees outside but it sure feels cold.  There is a bit of a breeze and the humidity is at 90% so that must be why it feels so chilly outside.

Of course, the wood stove is keeping us toasty warm inside the house:)

I am perusing the seed catalogs since it is that time of the year.  The dead of winter but spring will be here before we know it and I want to put that greenhouse we built to good use this year.

Baking Bread and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm baking bread today.  I like the classic Betty Crocker White Bread.  I have two loaves in the loaf pans and they are making their final rise.

I have the house at 80 degrees.  That is a little too hot for my taste but the bread is loving it.

We have a wood stove so I'm not wasting a bunch of money heating the house:)

I decided to bake chocolate chip cookies.  The batter didn't seem quite "thick enough".  I decided I must have forgotten the last 1/2 cup of flour in the recipe when I measured so I added the 1/2 C. flour and forged ahead.

They turned out really flat and greasy.  I must have really screwed up on my flour measurements somehow.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some.

Where Have I Been?

Well, I guess I have been busy and a little lethargic.  Not a great combo.

I am going through the seed catalogs so that I can start ordering for spring planting.  I have a greenhouse and I need to make good use of it!

I have pretty much quit smoking using the e-cigs.  I am still clinging to a couple of smokes a day but yesterday I forgot to smoke any real cigs until late in the day!  I love the e-cig and they are a much safer alternative to smoking.