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.

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.

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.

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.

Is it Springtime Yet?

I have several days off so I have been going through the sheds and throwing things out.  You know, those old blankets and bedspreads that I was going to use for ... what?  Dog beds or plant covers or something.  I had some freeze protection row crop cover cloths that were stored for two years.  Turns out I can't use them since it is so windy here I can't keep them on the rows.  A large mouse/rat had turned them into a nest.  I threw them out.

We had a ton of rodents last year which we diligently trapped out but I hadn't really gone through the shed to see what the damage was.  I got a lot of stuff thrown away in two of the sheds.  I put out about ten bins and barrels and boxes.  The trash guy told me it was too many but he magnanimously decided to take it all anyway. Thank goodness since I will probably have more by next Friday.  I am in the mood to throw it away if it hasn't been used in awhile.

I also managed to gather up all the little odds and ends of two by fours that I can't bring myself to throw away.  We'll burn them next winter so I put them in a barrel to store with the rest of the wood out back.

Christmas lights.  We don't do Christmas and we have no children so ... I threw away some more of those darn lights.  I still have some left.  Maybe I'll be rid of them all in another year or two.  I spread all the fertilizers and such around the yard.  They aren't doing me much good just sitting in here, now are they?

The wooden shed looks much better.  The long shed is doing a lot better as well. I have some more work to do on the front wall and a shelf to install.  We have to make the sliding doors this summer, as well and I need it to be as cleaned out as I can get it to work in there.

Wednesday and Thursday were gorgeous.  Coreopsis is blooming underneath my Golden Honey Locust.

We have at least four males and one female hummingbird coming to the feeders.

Thursday the wind came up in one great gust and didn't quit for two days.  Here is an oriole clinging to the bobbing feeder.

Friday was hellabad.  This is rain/snow.  If you look closely you can see Wiseguy the miniature horse inside his shed.

Wiseguy came out briefly, decided the weather really did suck and went back into the shed to gaze out at the bad weather some more.  It rained and rained.  We needed the moisture but I got really wet working on the long shed.  I fired up the wood stove to dry off and warm up.  I love that wood stove.

Oh yeah, and the electricity went out for about 6 hours yesterday.  Bummer.

Fortunately the snow didn't stick and today, although only 55 degrees and pretty windy, isn't nearly as bad.  We are hopeful that our veggies will pull through and we won't have to replant.  Especially since we don't have any extra melon or winter squash seeds to replant with, for the most part.

More Spring Photos

Ads are appearing on this blog and I don't know why.  I am trying to figure that out.

The hardy geraniums are just starting to bloom.

The Purple Robe Locust is showing how it got it's name.  We are counting on it to shade the breezeway and it is starting to be effective.  Three years old.

The Cottoneasters have cute little red flowers.  The bees are loving this plant.

Wow!  This pie cherry is covered in blossoms this year.  

This Mountain Ash is two years old and has flowers at the end of each branch.  Hope it grows a lot this year.

I should look up the name on this one but I am going to say caryopterix.  Beautiful blue flowers that the hummingbirds love.

Our first strawberry of the year and, boy, was it tasty!

Northern Nevada Spring

Overnight got ugly at 34 degrees at 5:30am and just about 32 degrees at 6:30am.  The good news is that we didn't quite get to freezing, I think.  So far no damage and the temp is going up this week so we should be out of the danger zone.  Of course, this is Nevada so no guarantees.

Lilacs blooming
Large fruited crabapple blooming
Climbing roses in the front of the house really taking off this year
Populars, willows, fruit trees all getting leaves
grapes just starting to leaf out

Pulled one of the rhubarb to give some to Linda.  I am transplanting it to the fruit tree area anyway.  It was deeper than I thought and it has massive roots sort of  like yams.

We got the gates hung for the veggie garden driveway.  Nice.  We got the short piece of fence up that keeps the dogs out of the veggie garden on the far side of the horse shed.

We long lined the little horse on Wednesday.  We did pretty good.  He didn't want to turn left so I bopped him on the right shoulder.  That worked to give him the idea and after the third time he was no problem at all.  He likes trotting and I can't wait to get him into the cart so he can get a more exercise.  Hubby also drove him around the yard.

Also, on Wednesday, Hubby got the south side of the veggie garden rototilled.   Next week he should do the new north side area.  We went down by the river and got some materials for the horse hitchin' posts.  We found several old cedar fence pieces and that will make a nice rustic looking hitching post and then we got some cottonwood branches so we could make the crosspieces.  Fun!

Linda says she'll help teach me to lunge him.

Way windy yesterday so after getting the gates done we quit and had a nice rest of the day off in the house.

Camera Problems and Working it in the Springtime

The camera is fine but I have to load a program [apparently] to allow me to get the pictures off the camera and into the computer.  This sucks!  The DVD reader thingey hasn't worked for a couple of years.  Sure, there have been a couple of times when we tried to get it going because we wanted something from a DVD but it just didn't seem like it was worth the time and the hassle to replace the DVD so we haven't gotten around to it.

The computer is probably five years old and I have been thinking about replacing it.  I am even considering an Apple computer.  I need to read up on this stuff.  We mostly use the computer for the internet, blogging and commenting, sharing photos.  I don't know what I will do about that.

In the meantime, I can't download my photos from my new camera because the DVD player isn't working and I need to put this program in from the disc that came with the camera.  Rats!!!

I got some good photos yesterday.  I got the roof struts on  the horse shed.  I put up the Simpson clips.  Then, I put on the two side rafters.  I screwed the front trim piece on [it's another 2x4].  Then I put up the other 2x4's for rafters by shoving them up against the front trim board.  Should come out pretty even that way.  We are ready to roof and put on the plywood siding.  There is also trim work to do.  I think I will worry about painting it in a few weeks.

The wind came up while I was working on the horse shed.  Chilly!!!  It didn't warm up much yesterday.  It snowed just enough to sting your face in the wind.  Fortunately, I fired up the wood stove so I could come in and warm up in between rounds of measuring and drilling and attaching.

I also got a couple of nice photos of the daffodils which are totally blooming in yellow drifts right now.  Spring is here although it was 28 degrees overnight last night.  I am hoping that the trees have been holding off leafing out/blooming and that it won't be a problem.  I'll find out when I walk around the yard later today.

I got 20 holes dug for the asparagus yesterday.  Then I got two wheel barrow loads of compost spread out into the 20 holes.  I'll probably put more compost into the holes as I plant the asparagus.  I got all the drip lines set up but three.  I'll do those today.  I have quite a few drippers [I like to call them bobblers] to pop on still.  I want to run the water today and plant the asparagus tomorrow or Wednesday.  If not then I have to wait until Saturday.  I think the plants are fine.  I put them in a bowl with damp coconut coir on the roots and put them in the fridge.

My artichokes are coming up so I need to work with them today.  The package said to soak them overnight in water.  Then, put them in a jar with peat moss [I used coconut coir] for two weeks.  It hasn't been two weeks but they are definitely sprouting.  I am going to do that right now since I don't want to go out until it warms up a bit.  The tubing is hard to work with when it is really cold.  The good news is there is no wind.

If I get lucky there will be little to no wind this afternoon when I go to see the little horse.  I'll have to take a few camera photos so I can get them on the blog.  Darn the camera problem:)  Wish me luck on the little horse.  I have been looking for quite some time.  I am not in a hurry but I would like to find the right horse at the right price so that I have the spring and summer to play with it.

The quail came through this morning while I was planting seeds.  I need to throw some chicken scratch out there for them.

Gardening Note:  Red Hot Pokers started today.

Spring has Sprung

The ornamental pear is blooming.  That means spring has sprung.  It's a roller coaster ride into summer.  Windy, calm, warm, cold, sunny, cloudy.  The theme that runs through out spring is:  Get 'er done!   There is manure to haul in from a neighbor's house and  horse shed to complete followed by fencing.  There are onions, garlic, potatoes and 3 kinds of peas to plant.

But first!.... we have to finish setting up the new, improved veggie garden irrigation set-up.  Maybe we will do that today even though the wind is ripping.  I got my order from Dripworks.  Hubby says I shouldn't have bought the new brass manifold for $17 because the outlet holes are too small unlike the superior sized manifolds he makes with super duper outlet holes.  He's probably right because he usually is on all this mechanical stuff but I bought the stuff exactly like the picture showed in the catalog.  The good news is I can actually use the new brass manifold somewhere else if it isn't working out for the garden.  That means I don't have to box up the new manifold, stand in line at the post office which must be 7 miles away, waste an hour of my day and a gallon of four dollar per gallon gas and then spend five dollars to ship it back.

The baby tomato plants look super even if they are just getting their first true leaves!  I have been putting them in the greenhouse and then bringing them back inside before dark.  I just got the greenhouse set up a few days ago.  Turns out I had a leak in the "pond" in the middle of the greenhouse and 3/4 of the water was gone.  Yesterday I got the rest of the water out and re-lined the hole with some new plastic off the roll. I'll have to see if that worked.  I need to see what the over night low is in the greenhouse for a few more days and make sure it is stable enough for tender babies to camp out by themselves.

The daffodils are up but they look a bit dwarfish.  They aren't getting very tall this year.  I am thinking that the ground is pretty dry.  Too cold to water most of February and just about zero rain.  The soil is moist only to about 12 inches, at best, and that isn't much.

The crabapples and the fruit trees are threatening to bud out.  The longer the trees wait the better.  Sure it was 45 degrees overnight but it is sure to freeze again soon.  The iris are coming up and so are the daylillies.  Of course they aren't anywhere close to blooming but that is a nice touch of green around the yard.

The grasses are just starting to really come on strong.  I am concerned that it is really dry even for rice grass and will try to give a few areas a boost by moving a sprinkler around the yard on a day when I am home and the wind isn't howling.

I still have 20 asparagus plants to get in, as well.  How hard can that be?  Well, we have to hook them into the existing tree and shrub zone so I figure that is 20 holes to pop into the 3/4 inch tubing and 20 long barbs, 20 1/4 inch pieces of tubing crowned by 20 T's forty short pieces of 1/4 inch and then forty 1/2 gallon per hour Woodpecker Pro drippers.  Yeah, it really is a lot of work.  It will be worth it if we have delectable asparagus next spring.  Gardners are always looking forward to what the yard will be when the plants are mature:)

Happy Spring!!!!

Seed Starting or Let the Garden Begin

Let the garden begin!  Today I am starting the first of my greenhouse seedlings.  I actually start them indoors for the first two weeks since my greenhouse is not heated and seeds like a fairly even heat to germinate well.

I got this nifty coconut coir in a block this year.  Good price from Gardner's Supply Company.  I like coconut coir as a seed starting medium.

You put the block in a bucket with quite a bit of water.

In a few minutes, it fluffs up into this nice, moist material.

My seeds are organized [at least the ones I bought are, the seeds I saved are another story].

I put the coconut coir medium into this tray with larger sized planting squares since the tomatoes are in the greenhouse for about 8 weeks  and will benefit from the extra room.

I am growing three kinds of tomatoes this year.  I select short season varieties.  The Sungold hybrid is a new one for me, as is the Legend variety.  The Delicious variety is left over from last year.

I put three seeds in each pot.

Cover the seeds with about a 1/4 of an inch of coconut coir and the label them.  Into the house for a toasty couple weeks.  We'll see how soon they come up.

Average date of last frost in my area is May 15th. This year could be May 1st [maybe I am being optimistic].  Last year it was May 30th.   Yeah, my climate sucks.  It is so variable.

Cold and Windy

We tried to go out of town this holiday weekend but it just isn't working out.  The faucet broke so we spent four hours today going to town and getting a  new one.  We fell asleep on the couch and it is now evening and we are turning the water off for the night again since the faucet is dribbling and dribbling.  We are on a well so it is easy to turn the water off and on anyway.

Looks like we may have snow to the valley floor although the predicted low is 38 degrees so nothing should stick.  A cold, windy spring for sure.  Memorial Day weekend is turning out to be a lazy indoor weekend.  I needed the rest so I will relax and enjoy watching old movies with Hubby tomorrow after we fix the faucet.

Beautiful Day

The day has started off beautifully.  There is always plenty to do around here but I need to rest up a little.  I'll see what I can get done.  Have to go to town later and not looking forward to it.  I think I will try to make it a quick trip.

Update:  Take it easy?  Guess that didn't happen.  Let's see, transplanted nine pumpkins, 4 tomatoes, 11 pepper plants [I'm growing the hot cayenne peppers again this year], 15 Basil plants [Patio and Large leaf].  Weeded a bit this morning as well.  We ate lunch and then we had to run.  Kragen's to recycle the motor oil, Starbucks for coffee, banking, then drive in to town for groceries and cigs.  Yeah, I left at 1pm and didn't get home until 5pm. Get the groceries in and the cold stuff in the fridge and the freeze me stuff into the big freezer.  Then, run out to close up the greenhouse, feed the goats, refill the hummingbird feeder and feed the dogs.  No, really, I am resting up tonight!  Except for all the groceries I have to put away and divide up for camping and the dishes that are waiting to go into the dishwasher. And, I still need to organize for tomorrow's cleaning job.  Whew.  Can't wait for the holiday weekend.

Hubby planted watermelons, eel river melons and something else.  Need to ask him what that was.

Watering street side zone

Spring is going to be summer soon...maybe.

I am so happy that spring has been lovely and cool and oh so rainy.  Okay, it rained really well twice.  It has been a joy!

Yes, I am dog tired and my arms hurt from doing too much but after my cleaning job today, I picked up rocks for the front garden that would be about 40 feet by 8 feet of rocks that I need.  Minus the square footage for the boardwalk.  I really will be picking rocks up once or twice a week for the rest of the summer.

Anyway, I got a nice load of rocks including one so big I am going to get Hubby to carry around the corner to the new spring garden bed. It is starting to look like I envisioned it.  The pennestemon are small and probably won't look great until next year but the Feather Reed grass is very pretty and already about 9 inches tall.  Most of the lavender I split into little plants is growing.  It probably won't look great until next year either.

The greenhouse plants are thriving.  A little more VF11 tomorrow and then, in a week or 2 I will be planting them.

Spring Garden

A beautiful day.  Wonderful clear skies.  Looks like it stayed above freezing last night.  Right now it is 38 degrees.  I need to rest up today.  I have to clean a house tomorrow and I don't like being tired for my housecleaning jobs.

I feel that spring is on track.  One cannot slow down too much but I am really quite thrilled with what has been accomplished so far.  Prioritizing on finishing any transplanting and getting the new shutters done.  Looks like the winds will be reasonable today and tomorrow but gusting to 25 tomorrow night.

We will have been living at this house for 6 years in July. It was so hot that year and the house just couldn't be cooled enough for my taste. The second summer wasn't much better.  Now that we have some greenery around the house it is a lot better here.

I was thinking back to our first spring here.  That was five years ago.  I worked so hard that spring to get the dead tumbleweeds and brush burned.  I weeded and weeded.  Well, I am still weeding.  But it has improved.  I put in a lot of little plants.  And half of them died.  The second year I put in quite a few little plants and about a quarter of them died.  By the third year I was getting more proficient at gardening in the desert.  It was success at last.

This will be our fifth spring here.  I am not ordering any new plants.  I am making sure that the plants we do have [and there is plenty]  get the best fertilization and pruning and such they can have.  I am transplanting some items to make better use of the drip system and the area nearer to the house.  There is still plenty of weeding to be done and I am not really doing as good a job as years before.  The plan is to get the goats working for me on the back two acres.  That leaves me with about 3 acres to do my best on.

The only new plants I put in, so far, are some native brush from down near the river.  My friend down there let me dig up two kinds of thorny looking babies [I don't know what they are, I'll have to try to find out] and some baby sagebrush.  I am having native shrubbery out back along the fence by the road.  They don't need much water and they are my first line of defense for the winds that rip through here.  So far they all seem to be living through their transplanting.

I think I will fertilize the new North windbreak today.  It has been well over a week since I transplanted and I want them to grow fast!  Just a light fertilization.  I suppose it is time to get moving.  Looks like I can hang the laundry on the line today.  That is a money saver and it is good for the environment.

Couldn't fertilize North windbreak since I need parts that should arrive tomorrow.  Laundry done.  Spring garden transplanting, not done but I did transplant a bunch of Japanese iris and a bunch of daffodils.  Have to wait and do more on Friday or Saturday.

Fertilizing fruit tree zone  with overnight watering.

Grazed goats this evening.  Cleared weeds from the garden this morning and fed them 3 bins of weeds.

Mosquitoes are out this evening.  Hate it.  So far no buffalo gnats.  Hope it won't be like last year when my eyes were swelling shut.  I am definitely allergic to the gnats.

Plenty left on the list so starting again on Saturday to get it all done.

Happy springtime to all.

Spring Garden

Yeah, "Today is a permissable burn day.  You may burn daily from sunrise until 2pm."  The recording is in my favor!

First things first.  I need to finish my cup of coffee.  Then, out come the matches.

Two hours later and seven piles of brush are ashes! Yeah!!!  It doesn't seem like much but I didn't want those piles of brush blowing around all summer long while I work on the new side of the veggie  garden.

A bit of a break, maybe another cup of coffee and then off to transplant the spring garden stuff.

Watered street side overnight last night.

Just checked the greenhouse and already 62 degrees.  I am sure it stayed above 50.

Oh, and I need to get the baby pumpkins into bigger pots.  I started them in peat pots but now I realize those are such tiny peat pots that isn't going to work so... live and learn.

Got the pumpkins transplanted.  Got some of the spring garden transplanted.  I am taking the daffodils from the front and putting them into a bed with the newly transplanted forsythia.

Hubby stretched the wire for the back fence today!!!!!!!  Yeah!!!!  We still have to do the other half of the property but cross fencing is getting there.  Hubby also has to install a gate across the driveway into the back area and the goats will be officially contained.

Successfully grazed goats morning and evening.  The dogs are a big help with keeping them in line.

Watering East zone over night.  Watered front 3 hours, back 2 hours and North windbreak 2 hours.

Beautiful day though it did get a bit windy by 10am.  Luckily I got out there and got the brush burned early.

Ordered irrigation supplies today.  Busy day but a lot got done that needed doing.

Spring Garden

Definitely a bit below freezing in the garden.  I watered overnight and had a bit of ice building up on the ground and fence line.  Oh well, the plants seem to be taking it well.

Morning stats.
Greenhouse 46 degrees
Breezeway  31 degrees

I hope the greenhouse will start staying over 50 degrees as the tomato plants probably don't appreciate the chill. Maybe I will bring them in tonight and take them out again tomorrow morning.

Pulling weeds in the veggie garden this morning.  The goats ate well.  Time to get started on the rest of my list.

Looks like it will be up to 30 MPH winds later today.  Hoping it will calm down so I can burn brush piles this week.  It is all over on the burning May 22 so time is starting to run out.  Darn wind has really been hampering burn season this year.

A successful day all the way around.  DMV was in and out.  They were calling our number before we even filled out the form.  Sonic burgers for dinner in town.  What a treat!  Haven't done that in months.

The dogs are becoming quite good at herding the goats.  Of course it helps that Hubby is home to assist in training.  Much easier with two people.

Ready to stretch fence wire tomorrow.  Yoohoo!  That means we are so close to finishing that cross fencing.  Next year the goats can eat on their own without me corralling them into the North field.

Got the Donkey Tails planted under the fruit trees plus got the built up sand smoothed away from the trees and got the drippers sitting nicely for watering.  Steadily weeding the veggie garden.  Also, got a bit of brush cut back and piled up for burning [hopefully tomorrow.]

Time to relax as the sun fades away.

Spring Garden

I was so busy yesterday that I didn't write a word!

Yesterday's stats

Morning temps

28degrees breezeway
41 degrees greenhouse

46 degrees this morning greenhouse
29 breezeway  a cold morning.

Plenty of baby plants coming up in the flats.  Moved most of them to the greenhouse!

Grazed goats with Penny's help.  Got the fencing 2/3 way around worth windbreak.  Arranged to get manure today at 11:30 [only  a gardener can be excited about that!]  Transplanted and got on drip about 10 small trees. Also managed to get cages around those little trees so the goats don't take a nip out of them.  They have managed to nibble to death about 3 pine trees which they seem to have taken a liking to.  When you are only a foot tall a little nibbling doeas a lot of  damage! Did a bit of weeding in the veggie garden. Yep, it was  a very busy day.

By the way, the Royal Wedding was spectacular.  Love the horses and carriages.  Lots of Father, Son and Holy Ghosting in the ceremony which I don't think an educated young couple like Catherine and William are going to take too seriously.

Time to get moving.

Weeding and clearing brush were the name of the game today.  Truck wouldn't start.  Battery totally dead.    No manure.  Couldn't find spare keys that worked so I don't know if the trickle charging the battery worked.

Spring Garden

I am totally panicking, am totally depressed!  Argggghhhhh!  The weather man is threatening me with two horribly cold nights.  28 degrees tonight and 29 degrees tomorrow.  What is this going to do to my plants.  The whole yard may end up being frosted.  Oh Noooooo!

It is going to be a chilly 53 degrees today and I have to clean a house.  I am undecided what to do about the greenhouse.  I don't want it to get too hot but I certainly don't want it to be too cold either.  I think I will open the roof vent just before I leave and hope for the best.

Spring Garden

The weatherman is threatening me with 28 degrees tomorrow night.  Let's hope he revises that upward!

Greenhouse currently 74 degrees.  Cloudy, sunny,cloudy,sunny.  I'll just have to make sure I close it up early.

Windy but I did go get some wild brush and sagebrush early at my friends house for the west fence windbreak.  Running that zone to water them in.

Watered fruit tree zone overnight last night.  Hope to catch up on all the spring activity soon like looking at the crabapples that are blooming so prettily.  The mystery tree is blooming for the first time this year.  Maybe some sort of apple.  The Siberian crabapples are still small but mightily putting on size.

The pine trees on the wind fence are tiny still but they are trying hard.

Got the goats out with Penny this evening.  Rusty just couldn't handle this mission and I am too tired to work with him.  It never pays to work with an animal when you are not feeling well yourself.   Penny did really well for about half an hour or maybe 40 minutes.  Then she got the goats running and they headed for the pen.  A little too soon for my taste.  The goats were later poking around the pen like they were still hungry so I pulled a bucket of weeds from the front and gave it to them.  I am not feeding them alfalfa with this many weeds available!

Have to clean a house tomorrow so I am trying to rest up.  Spring is a lot of work.  When I am tired I make lists of what I need to do.  Like that is accomplishing something.

Royal fever has come upon me. Kate and Wills are getting married tomorrow in the wedding of the century.  Or should I say Catherine and William?  I have a lot to do tomorrow so good thing I have the DVR recorder so I can watch it all later in the day!  I've already warned Hubby that I can't miss a single minute of it so don't mess up the recording schedule, please.

Spring Garden

Boy, it was cold overnight.
31 degrees on the breezeway early this morning.  It looks like nothing got frosted.  Got lucky.
41 degrees in the greenhouse at 7:40am.  Should have closed it up sooner.  The zinnias were fine though.

Sunny and not too warm today.  Got to do some burning, finally.  It has been too windy to burn so far this spring.

Heard it will be breezy later.

Trying to sell the old Neon for a few hundred dollars.  Gotta pay for registration on the new 2008 Honda Fit.  Cute car, great gas mileage.  The newest car we have owned in years!  Has A/C.  Loving that.

Neon is sold.

The dogs did so well at staying while I was getting the goats out.  Then poor Rusty got excited and went the wrong way to herd the goats and frightened them back into the pen.  I locked him in the house though not out of meaness.  I just needed to get those goats fed and it was starting to take a long time. Tomorrow we will try it again.  I am very proud of Rusty.  He's a very good boy.