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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

A Really Big Chainsaw

Hubby has two helpers - Rusty the Red Dog and 

Little Penny Poo Poo 

This is Hubby's new pride and joy.  It is a really big chainsaw.  He is cleaning it up.  He traded one of the neighbors for it. Hubby had a big block Chevy intake manifold and the neighbor had this saw Hubby was eye balling so one day they swapped.  Junk for junk :)   Actually, they both think they got a good deal.

Hubby now has three saws.  All Husquevarna which he seems to have taken a shine to.  He has been ordering all kinds of bits and pieces to put on the saws.  A fuel line here and an air filter there.  He said something about pistons rings and a piston borer not too long ago.  I tried to look fascinated.

What else to do on the day off?  I burned a little brush.  I cut it down yesterday and raked it into piles.  Always risky since, if the wind comes up, all that hard work of raking is for naught.  I checked the weather forecast before raking yesterday.  Fortunately, it all worked out fine.

The dogs, and the cat,were a little behind on shots.  We do the animal shots ourselves since we save a bunch of money doing it that way.  I don't like needles at all.  Hubby doesn't mind poking the animals so I hold them and he pokes them.  We will have to give the goats their shots when we get to the feed store in a few weeks.

The cat, the dogs and the goats got wormed last week.  Penny likes to eat bunnies and so does the cat.  The rabbits have tapeworms and that means the other animals can get tapeworms from eating the bunnies.  I don't even know if the goats have worms.  You are supposed to worm them every so often, just  as a precaution, I guess.

Hubby has gone over to the neighbor's house.  They are probably telling bad jokes and Hubby is telling him all about how he got that saw running.  All in all, a nice relaxing day off.

I can't help but be impatient that we aren't getting the fencing done.  The new reason is because he wants to make sure the four foot gates we are buying will really fit in a four foot hole.  I told him that they specifically said they do fit in a four foot hole including hardware.  Oh, well, maybe we will get this moving next week.  I am searching for a driving pony and I need to get this done!

Burning Brush - Photo Opportunity!

You can see all the brush I have lined up in the driveway to burn.  I am burning dried grass, purple smoke bushes [I call them spindle plants]and lots of greasewood.  Within moments of starting the fire, woosh, the first pile goes up in super hot flames.  That's why it is called greasewood - because it burns like pouring grease on a fire.

The flames don't last long so I shoved the camera in my back pocket and started throwing on the rest of the brush one big armful at a time.

I have been using my new [used] gas powered hedge trimmer to cut back brush, lop off spindle plants and dried grass tops.  Sure is a time saver.  I have also used it to trim back the sand cherries and the silver buffalo berries to make sure the stay neat and tidy.

After I have been cutting for awhile, I then have to rake and/or carry the yard debris into a pile where it is safe to burn, get my shovel and rake at the ready for safety and light it up!  It has been so dry this winter that you have to be extra careful.  I sure wouldn't want to have to tell the neighbors I started the famous fire of 2012 in our neighborhood.

A Real Day Off

We had to drive 40 miles to meet the guy who wanted to buy our old truck.  We ended up settling for $1000 but at least it is sold.  We went out to breakfast, stopped by the bank, got some gas and drove home.  I settled in for an early nap.  All in all, a real day off.  No garden, no goats, no fencing - just hanging out.  I really need the time off since I have been pushing so hard to get outside work done.

Yesterday, I did some more burning.  Who knew there were so many shrubs to be cleared and burned.  Cutting the grasses back, as well.  Looks like the veggie garden is down to digging up the roots of the shrubs.

I finished transplanting all the plants I was swapping around so that I would be able to safely have a horse in the back.  I still have to make sure it all the irrigation gets straightened out.  Back to loafing!

Marsh hawk hunting!!  Went out to empty the ash bin and feed the goats and what do I see?  A hawk swooping low, really low, over and through the brush in the neighbors back acreage.  I hear quail calling to one another and then the hawk rops down onto the earth.  He is up to something.  Must be chasing quail on the ground.  Then the hawk is back up into the air.  Nothing!  He is circling around for another go at the quail.  He swoops around and through the brsh again.  So low I can barely see him and then he drops down to the ground.  This time I don't see im come back up.  Maybe he got himself a meal