Oct. 23-24, '09

Garden
After a couple of frosts (one Saturday morning), the garden was pretty much shot. We did pick more green beans and black eyed peas before pulling up the plants. There were more cherry tomatoes but they didn't taste good. Tender actually got sick after eating some. Of course there was more summer spinach (had it with our eggs). We also got a few jalapenos (left that plant) and bell peppers (pulled it up).

Fall/Beaver

The trees were pretty, but many (including our sunset maple) had already dropped their leaves. We had gotten another 2.4 inches in the gauge, so the creeks were flowing and the spring was full Friday. Beaver had the culverts dammed way up, so I cleared those again when we walked down Saturday morning. The pond should have dropped a good 8 inches. Larry Hodges is looking for a dry period to get in and brush hog.

Work

• Repaired the swing on the other side of the spring. The vertical cross member between the seat and arm rest had broken and it was cracking the horizontal piece supporting the seat. Cut and drilled out a replacement.
  
• Sally had gotten two trees from the fall city give away that I planted. A red bud I put by the road on the way in where I have two volunteers coming up, and a red maple I put to the west of the house and just south of the sunset maple.
  
  
• Put the insulation back in the top of well house.
  
• Drug limbs big enough for fire wood out of the woods north of the house, and drug some cedars NE of the house for another burn (lots more to go up there).
  

Propane
Anderson's had filled the propane tank during the week, 205 gallons. Price is low now, $325.

Truck Stuck

This was the big event of the weekend. (I wish I had thought to get a picture of the truck, but instead only got the mess it left.) I had 6 bags of bentonite clay stacked on some boards in the garage. I had gotten them in the summer to plug the south culvert where the pond had started leaking. But when I got back out the beaver had solved that problem, and I hadn't had a need for the bentonite. But I noticed mice or something had chewed through the bottom two bags. So I decided to dump it in the pool below the spring because it has never held water (I've tried this before). I didn't want to carry the bags over there, so I drove them in the truck. Feeling like there wasn't room to turn around in there, I decided to back out (which I have done before). But just before getting back to the main road I didn't realize I was heading off the narrow lane and both left tires ended up down the hill. I'm really lucky I didn't roll the truck. I called a Berryville tow truck who hooked onto the side of the Tacoma (front and back) and winched it up to where it was almost on the road. It dug so much of the hill he wasn't comfortable trying that any further. So he tried to drive it out, but had no luck getting it to move. He then got behind the Tacoma in the drive going to the barn and pulled it backward with me inside holding the wheel straight. Sally said the right rear tire was several feet in the air at one point. Then, it was making a terrible screech when I drove it up the hill. The driver said it was gravel stuck in the disk brakes and I would need to pull the calipers. Later I realized that it only happened in 4WD and found a rock wedged between a housing and the drive shaft going to the front wheels. The tow was only $75. I'll probably spend more than that replacing the mud guard that got torn off the front left.

Oct. 10-11, '09

Sally was in Colorado seeing Amanda and soaking at Gleenwood Springs, so this was a boys weekend (Tender and me).

Walnuts
I had picked up about three bags of black walnuts around Asbell earlier in the week. But I wanted more figuring this was the best chance to them hulled when I passed through Clifty. (Wouldn't be out the next weekend since Sarah and Dave were coming in.) So I stopped across Drake from the Agri Farm to pick up nuts in an old walnut grove. It took about an hour and a half, but I got another 3+ bags. For $7 I had them hulled by Clarence in Clifty -- ending up with 108 pounds. Chose to store them for drying in the work room at the house. (Sally's already complained about the smell.)



Weather
We had recieved over 5 inches of rain in town Thursday night/Friday morning, so I was a bit anxious about what I would find. The gauge was completely full, so 5.5 inches plus. The well house had a little water still standing, but the sump pump must have worked as there was no sign of high water. I have not completely filled the hole I dug replacing the yard hydrant behind the barn, and sure enough it was completely full of water (and mud). The pond was also full but there were no signs of it going over the main part of the dam -- just the lower part on the far side.

It was 62 degrees in the house, so I went ahead and lit a heater though I never used it. It was in the 30s over night and the high Sunday was only 50 with completely overcast skies.

Work
Did some mowing, some weed eating, and continued cutting, dragging and piling limbs in the pastures -- downed from the ice storm. I'm finally ready for the place to be brush hogged, but now its too wet.

Birds
There was still food in the green feeder, but very few birds around. The suet feeder had completely disappeared. Restocked the sunflower and thistle feeders hoping for some customers.

Burrs
The fields and non-mowed areas are full of begger lice and tiny burrs that stick to anything. I don't remember these in the past. Tender would get loaded up and I had to give him several thorough brushings. They were also difficult to remove from my clothes, especially the frayed areas of my jeans.

Oct. 2-3, '09

It had been three weeks since being at the farm due to my Lake City, CO trip with Brad and meeting up with Amanda. Need to get that written up for my website.

Garden

Sally got quite a few green beans from the one pole bean plant she didn't pull up, and was now upset about being impatient and pulling up the others. Also got more black eyed peas, but nearing the end of that crop. Picked one bell pepper and had stuffed peppers this week. Also got lots of jalapenos, but just a few tomatoes -- Sally wouldn't pick most of the cherry ones thinking they didn't look good.

Work

There was 4.1" in the rain gauge, so the grass was still growing and everything needed mowing. I got most of it, leaving the area behind the house and across the spring for the next weekend -- along with weed eating. Also, trying to get ready for the pastures to be brush hogged I continued cutting up ice storm limbs. (I got another truck load of firewood and had Sally call Lou to offer it to her since she would be in Tulsa Thursday, but Lou had just taken delivery of a load.) There are some huge walnut limbs which I wonder if could be salvaged. I'd love to make a table.

Leisure

Watched some 11 year old television when we found a video marked Donna's Baseball, but had a Sony Bono tribute and other old TV programs.