Hot and Cold

95 degrees day, 49 degrees overnight.  Today should be around 90 degrees.

We open up the house and let it cool off overnight and then close it up.  We did run the A/C  from about 5pm until about 8pm  last night.  By 10pm the outside was 74 and the inside was 74 and we opened the house up and went to bed.  60 degrees inside the house this morning.  If I get lucky I won't have to run the A/C at all today.

I took the little horse out for a nice walk of about 1 1/3 miles yesterday.  Wiseguy did really well.  He was quite curious about the neighborhood.  He walked fine.  No spooking or anything.

I think I haven't had the cart set up quite right after reviewing some info in a post on the major miniature horse website so when I put him in the cart again I think I'll do a bit better with it.

In the meantime I am going to take him for walks and try to get a tire drag going.  That way he can pull something around the neighborhood with his harness and blinders on and not have a set of wheels hooked up to him.  I got a little more info on the tire drag and the rein set up for the tire drag online yesterday.  I'll be reviewing that as I go along.  I need to make a singletree for the tire drag.  When I go to town I will need three eye hooks and some snaps or caribeeners  for clipping the harness to the trace chains and the tire to the singletree.

Okay, we did not run the A/C at all yesterday.

We worked on the final two shutters for the front of the house.  I'll have to get some photos.  We have the one glued and screwed but we were a bit short on materials so we ran into town.  We picked up a redwood 2x4 and 3 redwood fence boards plus 3 eye bolts and three snaps.  The eye bolts and snaps are so we can build the little horse a singletree and have him drive around with a tire on it.  That should be a great training tool!

I still have to take the tire with me on Friday and get the rim taken off the tire from the old pick up truck we sold.  That little Toy tire should be just the right size for a little horse like Wiseguy.

I took almost all the plastic buckets from planting trees and shrubs in the yard to the State Nursery while I had Hubby with me to help.  It was a lot of buckets, for sure.  I am trying to get the place cleaned up.  Not that it looks that bad but if you don't stay on top of the junk, the junk is soon piled up all over the place.  Now I can re-stack what I am keeping and throw out some more items, like old plant six packs, that we aren't going to use.  That will leave me with quite a bit of usable pots and six packs for next spring.

I told Hubby we are only 20 minutes from the Red Lobster by the time we are at the State Nursery.  Let's go out to eat in Reno.  So we did.

We then went to dinner at the Red Lobster.  Yummy.  They have a dinner special for $14.95 right now.  Soup, salad, entree, cheese biscuits AND desert.  Not a bad deal.  We both got the coconut shrimp and grilled pineapple shrimp combo plate that included plenty of broccoli, wild rice and our shrimps.


Today is supposed to be 93 degrees.  We are at 64 in the house this morning.  We will close it up and see if we can avoid running the A/C again today.

The Littlest Hitching Rail

Today has been a fantastic day for birds.

Mockingbird singing on the front fence.

A magpie swooped off the roof and landed in the Feather Reed Grass next to the back patio.  He snatched something and then threw it onto the concrete.  I finally figured out what it was.  One of the super ugly potato bugs.  The magpie was taking the legs off so he could eat it.  Good Magpie.

Meadowlark singing on top of one of the little apple trees.  He moved to the back and serenaded us from one of the goat pen corner posts a little later in the day.

Morning doves and quail coming through the backyard.  One of the quail is announcing that Hubby has come out.  Run my darling wife, run!

I guess we are mostly getting the M birds today:)

Now for the littlest hitching rail.

Isn't that adorable?  This hitching rail is conveniently located near his pen.  The shrub poplar in the background is about five years old and looking pretty good sized.  Yeah!!!

Only One Day Off

Hubby is only getting one day off this week.  I love the overtime money but in the springtime it is rough since we have a lot to get done between now and May 1st.  We ran errands.  First, we went to Starbucks.  Then, Lowe's to pick up the gates we ordered.

The 14 foot gate stuck way out of the trailer so we put red flags on it.  We also picked up posts, 2x6's, an old work electrical box and a package of 9volt batteries.

I had a coupon for Burger King and I love those Whopper with Cheese burgers.  Haven't been in months since I only go if I make it to Fernley or Fallon.  Then, we tried to stop by the feed store in our town but it was gone.  Didn't actually surprise me since the new owner was quite the character.  Read:  Clearly drinks a lot.  We had to drive to Dayton.  Hay was outrageous at almost $18 a bale for alfalfa and grass hay.  Still, we were getting low on alfalfa so we bought 2 bales and, since I am bringing a little horse home pretty soon, we bought one bale of grass hay.  At least they were heavy bales of good quality hay.  Hubby dragged them off the truck and into the hay shed.

We drove the horse pen supplies around through the veggie garden and parked near the work area.  The new garden set up is making it easy to use a truck and trailer in the garden.  Obviously, once the veggies are planted, we are done doing that until late fall.  This will be nice for bringing in manure, if we get around to it this year.

We got the lynch pin of the horse fence in.  It is the corner post for the reinforced corner where we will be hanging the six foot gate.

We got the last rafter up and the back trim board.  We seem to be moving right along on this project and we need to be.  We have to be hauling that little horse to our house in about 2 weeks.

A little taste of spring.  The pie cherry tree is blooming.  The ground squirrels and birds generally get the cherries, if we get anything at all.  So far, no late frost in the picture.  I have bird netting but I'll have to do it up tight on the bottom to keep the ground squirrels from stealing from us this year.

A Productive Day

Rusty is telling that goat.  When the dogs are outside the fence the goats kind of play with him but when the gate opens the goats run up onto the goat toy and safety.  Goats are pretty smart.

Yesterday was incredibly productive.

We got a pine post in for a hose guard in the veggie garden.  We treated it with old motor oil so the termites wouldn't like the taste of it.  We have wetland termites around here.

We staked out the horse pen.  It will be 33 feet by 38 feet.  The shed will be 7 feet by 7 feet.  We are working out the final details on the fence so that I can get a materials list going.  Hubby will have to drive me to the home improvement store to pick up materials.  Maybe when we go pick up the gates we ordered.

Speaking of gates, we called over to the feed store and tried to get the last two gates we needed but they didn't have gates in the size we wanted [14 foot and 6 foot] that matched the four foot wide gates we already purchased.  They had a different brand that they claim is the same color but they seemed pricey so....I did what all great shoppers do .... I went online.  I found a match at a box store in the next town north of us.  It is about a 25 mile drive.  I had to order them to be delivered to the store.  The gates will be in about April 3rd so I want to have a materials list done so we can pick up fence posts and boards at the same time we get the gates.

We'll take the trailer to pick up our items.  The trailer has been a fantastic investment and we got such a good deal.  The neighbor, who is really good at building trailers, helped us build it at cost plus us a few hundred dollars in labor.  The trailer pulls really nicely and has helped us get wood for the fire, hay for the goats, take hunting gear for the annual hunting trip and helped us haul manure in for the garden.  You can't beat that.

Hubby repaired the old wheelbarrow which has been a pain in the behind for a long time.  The bearings keep popping out of the socket then you have to tip it over and pound the darn things back into the holes.  He took the wheel off, moved it forwards and put a couple of shims on it.  That also solved the other problem where the wheel would rub on the wheelbarrow when you had a load in it.  Yeah!!!!!

He repaired the large ax and then oiled the handles for the rakes and shovels and such.

We staged the fence posts to finish up cross fencing and gate areas and it looks like we have just enough.

I helped Hubby cement in another fence post.  This one is sort of  in front of the greenhouse and will have a four foot man gate on it to get into the driveway into the back area.  It will only open out since the greenhouse corner sort of blocks it but it allows for maximum backing in and protects the greenhouse from getting backed into.  The greenhouse windows are very expensive and they are hard to replace so I sure don't want a disaster like backing a trailer into it.

Hubby also moved the 4x4's for the horse shed to the area where we are building the shed.  He moved the roll of wire that was blocking the greenhouse door.



Just for fun, Hubby went ahead a worked on one of his chainsaws while I took a nap on the couch.

I e-mailed my horse driving trainer and she hasn't gotten back to me.  I wonder if she is dumping me as a client?

Garden

Picked several large bunches of Bok Choi. A huge basket of garden peas.  A couple of corns.  A number of yellow crooknecks and one patty pan and two zukes.  Also a small bowl of strawberries.

Fertilized the Front Zone, the Back Zone and the East Windbreak.

Found some string board pieces in the shed.  Managed to get a couple of nice facia boards for the shed cut and put up.  I also manages to cut the last piece of the roof for the backs side of the shade cover it was 12 inches at the top and 20 inches at the bottom. That is a pretty wonky shape but now that it is up I don't think you'll notice it a bit.

I heard it would be 30MPH winds and about an hour ago it started roaring.  Looks like it will be windy tomorrow as well so I may go grocery shopping.  I need  a few things at Home Depot, as well.  I need to check how much paint I have.  I'm going to need to see how much base coat, too.

Projects

Oh boy, Hubby helped me bunches today on the shade cover area.  He got the three 4x8 OSB up and he put the screws in for me.  He also cut the rafters to the right length.  It was great.  He has one more set of rafters to cut to the right length on the long shed and he is pretty much done helping me.  I won't say no if he volunteers for more, I suppose:)  I was so tired I was practically drooling but I hung in there since I only get his help once a week lately because of his work schedule.

We had more of those delicious filet beans I love so much for dinner along with the mini cobs from picking corn today.  The good looking corn was blanched, cut off the cob and frozen into 8 sacks of Chinese stir fry sized bags and 2 bags of dinner for two sized.

Big day tomorrow.  Hope I am up for it.  Need to pick a lot of stuff and freeze it and need to work on the shed. Hubby has agreed to do the cooking when he gets home.

Watering and lightly fertilizing the North Side Windbreak.

Fertilized the veggie garden this morning.

All of this and I got the laundry done and the kitchen cleaned up twice.  No wonder I am tired.  I am taking the rest of the night off.   Heading for the shower.  Good night.

Garden

Picked zukes.  Got my first yellow crook necks, two small cuties.  Also my first patty pan.  More to come!

Got two more posts cemented in for the shed.

Thinking about my shed design.  I want to add another section in front so I will need 3 more 12 foot posts.  Four more 4x8 sheets of string board.  About 8 more 2 x4's for the roof and at least 3 more 2x4's to tie it all together and try to make it a sturdy box.  That's about $54 plus maybe two bags of concrete another $10.  I need to get some concrete on the back side to keep the wind from eating out the sand and exposing the shed posts at the bottom.   That will take quite a few bags so I'll have to pick up what I can when I go to town.

There is really quite a bit of work left to do to get that area straightened out.  I still need to do a better dog proof fence and I need to make a gate for the truck and trailer to go through.  I have to move the Jerusalem artichokes and get them some drip.  The asparagus is sucking so I have to make a new area for them and order some new plants.  I also want to make an area for the compost at the north end of the long shed so the wind will quit blowing it around the yard.  I want to get the compost onto the drip system.

Oh yeah, I need to tar and shingle the roof.  I am thinking about going cheap and just using tar paper and tar.  We will see.  I also need to seal the shed and get it primed and painted.

Anyway, just for today, I have gotten the posts in.  I am drawing up a sketch of the design so I have a pattern to follow.

Next, I need to go pick raspberries, strawberries, dewberries and black  berries.  May not be a lot ripe but I need to stay on top of that.

A mere handful of berries but I grew them myself!!! Looks like we sill have more berries in a week or so?!   Picked English garden peas.  Not a lot there either but enough for a treat with dinner.  Dinner is going to be delicious pork chops with fresh rosemary, ginger and mandarin orange juice juice.  Little S&P, for sure.  Zukes and patty pans fried up in olive oil with sweet peppers and onion with a bit of Parmesan cheese at the last minute.  That handful of peas I picked and shelled.  And a smoothies with strawberries, Tuscan melon and mandarin orange juice.

The mandarins were really sour so I am treating them like lemons.  Oh, I think some lemon bars for desert with those mandarin oragnes instead of lemons.  Hope that works out.

Fertilized veggie garden with VF11 in today's water cycle.  Will fertilize fruit trees/berries in tonight's overnight watering with Miracle Grow.

Barn Door Shutter

Well, today was the big day.  We placed the wheels into the track and they rolled so smoothly.  Yipee!  The barn door shutter is working as planned.  Can't wait to see how it holds up.  I am buying the long piece for the next shutter shortly.  It will be about 2 feet longer and a foot or so wider.  Yep, that is about 6 feet by 6 feet.  It is going to be fabulous.

Bailed out the pond for an hour.  Then, got the pond pump working.  Then decided that the arrangement wasn't right so I took out all the rocks.  Some big rocks.  Put a milk crate in there for the pump to sit on.  Put back all the rocks.  Now I am worried the pump doesn't sit low enough and might go dry.  I'll have to see how fast the pond losing 4 inches of water.  The set up is very artistic with a fabulous flat rock in front of the fountain.  The water comes up like a geyser about 4 inches and then cascades over the rock into the rock filled basin.  We call it the pond but really it is just a fifty gallon cheap plastic pool for a small pond.  It is great though since it draws in the birds and the big dog  and his friends love it.

I am working on a few minor points of irrigation today and then I am hopefully done!  Oh, and I do need to figure out where I put the Wall o' water for the tomatoes.  No idea, so far.  Darn.  This could turn into quite the search.  Can't wait until I finish the long shed.  I need the storage.

Wow.  The wind came up suddenly about 11:30 or noon and it was wildly strong.  Picking up sand and sand blasting your face strong.  I got the bobblers and sprinklers set that I needed to get done anyway.  Yeah, I'm a stud!

The barn door shutter did really well until the wind reached 35 or 40 mph.  I wedged a two by four onto the bottom to keep it from swinging out.  Hubby is going to make some wheels for it to hold the bottom in place.  For now, the two by four is working!

Hubby asked if I want to go out of town this weekend since he suddenly has four day off in a row.  Sure thing!  Can't take the little dog though since it is California and they don't like having dogs anywhere.  Have to see if the neighbor is available to babysit.

Watering fruit tree zone overnight.

Corn

The first batch of corn is in as of today.  Of course you have to plant it in blocks so we did about 20 feet by 4 rows.

The weather was gorgeous with sun and a few puffy clouds going by.  Maybe 75 degrees.  Nice!

I got the two five gallon weigalas in but one looked pretty darn wilty this morning.  Let's hope it starts looking a little happier by tomorrow.  Watered it so.  The other one looks great.  The little tiny honeysuckle I just put in a couple of days ago looks quite happy and so does my new, cute little clematis.  The licorice mint seems happy as well.

I am disappointed that I don't see much, if any, hummingbird mints coming back from last year.  My trumpet vines are coming back but they are coming up from the roots.  I thought they would get bigger and come up on the vines that were left from last year.  Might have to read up on those.

We got the shutter built.  We are trying a barn door style shutter for the front [south facing] windows.  We had hinged shutters but they were bad about the wind so I hope the new barn door slider style will be better.  They sure help keep the house cooler in the summer and I think they help in the winter as an  extra barrier between us and the harsh cold winds that buffet the house.  Hubby did a marvelous job and the shutters were definitely over my ability to do a good job.  Let's hope it works as planned when we hang it tomorrow.

Hubby also got the outdoor pug wired up for the pond pump.  It isn't areal pond since it is only fifty gallons but the Aussie shepherd loves his pond and so do the other dogs that visit.  The birds like it as well.  I will have to get the pump going soon as I keep having to change out the water.  The pump will keep it much more aerated and the mosquitoes don't lay eggs in moving water so that is a worry off my mind.  Because the water keeps getting changed over by over spilling with new water I haven't seen any mosquito larvae but it is better safe than sorry on that one.

Wheel barrow wheel is aired up and ready to go again.  Have to stay on top of that.  Yes, we have tried foam.  They had a no flat wheel barrow tire at one of the stores last week but at $40 I thought we could just keep air in the tire we have until it wears out!

I worked on the irrigation and the back berm is watering well now.  The spring garden has sprayers so no more hand watering the new guys.  The back berm near the wind fence was a bit of a mess but that is now watering properly.  I made risers for the sprinklers out of PVC pipe to get them up over the irises , grasses and shrubbery.  I also made risers for some of  the rest of the berm area but I have lots to do so I am going to worry about more risers if the plants get taller.  That back watering system also got an adjustment by the wind fence and is watering quite well now.  I got rid of the center sprinklers, moved all the sprinklers to the front and aimed them towards the fence and used half round sprayers instead of the full circle sprayers.  I think the fence will stay drier and the coverage is better.

I managed to get the landscape cloth down on the right side of the house.  Maybe I already told you. Then, over the last couple of days,  I got the irrigation straightened out over there.

Did I mention that area got some low white lattice pieces for fencing?  They are about 2 feet tall and four feet long and they were free.  It looks pretty good actually and maybe in a few years I'll change it up and make it look even prettier.  Keeps the dogs from playing in there and cuts the wind down a bit.

All the dog fencing I have put up is great and now that the dog isn't trying to drink out of all the sprinklers they are remaining pointing in the right direction!

Weeding is ongoing and the goats got 4 or five bins of weeds to eat today.  They even quit begging they were so full.

The irises are glorious clouds of color and I have a pink iris and an orange iris blooming.  Really unique and really pretty.  The yellow irises were hit by the freeze nine days ago but may manage to start blooming again.  The purple irises are classics and do well every year.  The blue irises are starting to bloom and have lovely shades of medium and dark blues.  One iris on the east side is almost black and very velvety looking.  The red iris is in its prime this year!   The two toned German irises are also starting to bloom.  I can count on my irises for clouds of color every year and may get a few more different colors.

I am finally feeling rested up, caught up and I think I can start keeping up!  We'll see.  Thursday I have to go to town and Friday I have to clean a house so maybe by Saturday I'll be back to tired and not getting enough done.  I promised myself that whatever I do this year will have to be enough.  There is only one of me.

Watering east side zone overnight.

Burn Baby, Burn!

Well, got the last of the burning done with help from Hubby.  I know it's only 11:00 am but it is lunch time and break time already.  Hopefully we will check more off the list of projects this afternoon.

This post should have been called Fire and Ice!

Last night we had a hard freeze an I didn't see it coming.  Busted my cheesey hose Y in the back.  Luckily I already have a replacement bought for when the new manifolds go on.

Casualties include freezer burn on Staghorn Sumacs, a few Buffalo Berries, all the Locusts that were just starting to leaf out [Golden, Purple Robe and Black] and the Green Ashes that were just starting to leaf out.  Several others including one or two of the Hackberries.  Oh well, we won't know what damage was really done for a day or two.

Arghhhh!!!!!