August 20-21, '10

Sally went to see Ted, so she and Tender met me at the farm. The miserable hot dry weather continued. There was actually one drop of water in the rain gauge. I wouldn't have noticed it except there was a drip from the bent gutter over the garage. Apparently a thunder cloud had passed over earlier in the day.

Timer Switch
This week it was 82 in the center of the house and 84 in the living room when I arrived. I thought I had tested it, but apparently the timer switch is not going to work on the AC since it did not kick on when I bypassed the switch and plugged it straight into the wall. Even after pushing the button to turn it on, the compressor didn't kick in. I was considering where I could run buy another air conditioner, but after several minutes the compressor finally engaged.

Propane
I had the tank filled and Anderson's left the ticket on the back gate this time. 251 gallons at $1.59 each plus tax ran the tab to over $425. This is an expensive season for the farm: propane, brush hogging coming up, quarterly insurance payment, property taxes (Carroll and Madison county), and this year septic tank pumping.

Steve's Septic Service
Steve was right on time. I got changed, set the sprinkler on the garden, and had started on refilling the bird feeders when he showed up. He used a long breaker bar to hit the lid several times to loosen it and then just pulled it up. The tank didn't look bad at all -- several inches of water were on top. It didn't take him 45 minutes to get it pumped. He pumps it out, pumps it back in to loosen everything up, and pumps it out again. He actually did this twice. I need to get some roofing tar now to seal the lid so that roots don't find there way into the tank. He also recommended building some kind of box right over the lid so it doesn't have to be dug up again. I told him I figured I'd never have to do it again, since it had made it 15 years to this first pumping.

Weed Eat
There was green grass around the trees I had watered the weekend before, but that was about the only place it had grown. I re-strung the John Deere and cleaned up around the house and did the hill south of the house. I was sweeping the porch when Sally drove up.

Garden
It survived the blistering heat, but the baby green beans I had seen the weekend before didn't look like they had grown at all. And we found very few black-eyed peas. But there were lots and lots of cherry tomatoes -- again. We picked a few bell peppers and had stuffed peppers for dinner. I also surprised Sally by finding enough summer spinach for our eggs in the morning.

There was a 50% chance of rain overnight, but we didn't get any. Very disappointing. Sally began lamenting that she may not have a garden next year (as she had done last year). But she had already gotten seeds for a fall garden and actually planted some of them. I think its too early (and too dry).

Water
As the weekend before, I moved the little sprinkler around most all the trees and filled the soaker bucket 4 times for the little oak out back (it did put on new leaves, lets hope they survive a few weeks at least). We also heavily watered Sally's soul tree -- the Colorado Blue Spruce.

Apples
There were about 4 on the ground. They are still very green. I counted 30 on the tree. I will be surprised if we get any ripe ones. The 1 pair is still on the tree, but felt rock hard.

Water Bars
I decided to work on the water bars Saturday. I mine the dirt (usually mud, but just loose dirt and rock now) for the water bars from behind the barn up next to the bluff. I loosen it up with the pick and then shovel it into all the buckets and containers I have. Then I drive it up the road and add it to which ever water bar needs it the most. The buckets all slide to the back of the truck when going up the hill, which makes getting them out tough. It is much harder in the Tacoma than it was in little blue, since it is so much higher and I have to lift up and over the side. (If I opened the tail gate everything would dump out.)

Cattle Guard
While at the top of the hill with pick and adz, I started trying to remove some of the silt from under the cattle guard. I had done some of this years ago, but it has gotten very bad. I would loosen it with the pick and then scoop it out with the blade of the adz. This was very slow and very difficult -- squatting, lifting, raising, and dumping. And each load was so small. I managed to get only 4 buckets filled during a period where I took two breaks. When I got back to the house and saw the temperature was 99 degrees, I didn't feel quite so bad.

I need to find some way to get underneath from the end and rake it out. But the only clear spot has a huge rock which the guard is sitting on. This will be a job for a cooler day.

Flagged Walnuts
Thinking I may go ahead and get the pastures brush hogged, I wanted to get some tape on more of the trees I wanted to keep. I flagged along the road, the area back and above the pond (the line of pines that didn't get cut in '06), and the few in the back pasture above Plume Creek.

Along the creek I found a bunch of giant thistle, so I went back to the house to get a shovel and bag. While there I observed the temperature had crept up to 102. It didn't take 20 minutes to get the thistle. Then it was shower, pack-up, and head out. I followed Sally all the way back -- boy does she drive slow.

August 13-14, '10

More hot and dry weather. So hot, Sally (and Tender) decided not to come out. This picture of the thermometer was at 4pm. The highest I saw Saturday was just 98. And nothing in the rain gauge. Everything was parched. I really do not like August.

Timer Switch
It was 84 in the center of the house and 86 in the living room when I arrived. I immediately turn on the AC. At 8pm when I came inside, the outside temp was still 94. When I bedded down in the living room where the AC is it was still 82.

I had stopped at Acords and bought a timer that would work with a grounded outlet. Its made to be used outside, but was the only one they had. I hooked it to the AC so that it would come on for 1.5 hours each afternoon. I am hoping it will help keep the inside humidity down and the mold that we sometimes find around (and under) furniture. I don't expect it to do anything about the temperature, other than temporarily.

Garden
I brought a sprinkler out and immediately put it on the garden, hitting both sides before dark. I didn't pick until Saturday morning. Another load of cherry tomtoes (though I thought some had tough skin), a few bell peppers, a couple of hot peppers, and some black-eyed peas. I also weeded, and even watered a little more. There were baby green beans on the plants that hadn't died. I squashed one cut worm. The stink bugs are doing a lot of damage to the black eyed peas. The basil is just struggling to survive.

Water
I moved the little sprinkler around most all the trees. I filled the soaker bucket three times for the little oak we planted behind the house last fall. It had lost almost all its leaves, but now has new ones growing. We'll see if it makes it. I forgot to water Sally's soul tree -- Colorado Blue Spruce she moved twice before its home out here.

Jeff Gay
When mowing down to the pond Jeff drove up (saw me out I guess) and we chatted. Ben had moved in with his family and died July 2009. I found out Jeff bought the dozer he used to build his pond (said it was about half full), and also has a back hoe! I gave him (really his kids) permission to catch and release in the pond. He also told me he had seen hunters on our place the last day of deer season. He said when he headed down they went up and hid in the woods. I gave him my phone number. I hope we get to see more of him.

Apples
I didn't find any on the ground! I picked a couple that looked like they were beginning to turn, but they are still very hard.

Sprayed
I made a last trip of the season up to the top of the hill. I think I have eradicated all the large patches of sumac, though I think it will be a constant battle to keep it knocked down -- but much easier than this initial control effort has been. What's it been, a 4 or 5 year process with my limited time?

Mow
Sally didn't understand why I needed to mow, but there was still some high grass in areas. I outlined the walnuts by the road to the pond, did in front of the barn, and the front of the house. Very dusty.

Septic Tank
I decided to get the septic tank pumped, so I had to dig down to it and clear an area around the door. I had dug it up several years back when I was suppose to open the lid and check it -- at Jerry's recommendation. But I couldn't figure out how to get it open since it was tarred shut. By my calculations it has been 15 years and never pumped, so I'm just going to do it.


Friday evening I dug down until I reached the top of the tank. I felt that was a good accomplishment and called it a day. Saturday I widened the area looking for the danged door. As you can see, I had not recalled where it was and therefore dug up much more than I needed. I finally switched from the adz (which would stop when you hit a rock) to the pick for loosening the dirt before shoveling it out. Did I mention that it was hot. I don't believe I will ever do this again. Steve's Septic is going to meet me to do the pumping for an estimated $210.

Flagged Pecans
I had a little over an hour before I needed to scoot, so I went down to find and flag the pecans along the creeks. I planted these in 2007, and I hope flagging them keeps them from getting brush hogged (coming up). I walked up Plume creek first and found 10, which I thought was pretty good considering they aren't any larger than they were in 2007. Along Gum creek I only found 5. I ended up flagging more volunteer walnuts that pecans. These, plus maybe another dozen pecans along the fence line are all that have survived of the 100 I originally planted. Promoting growth of the volunteer walnuts is definitely the way to go -- nature's choice of what trees should be growing out here.

August 5-6, '10

Since we were going to be out of town for the weekend, I came out Thursday night. The week had been very hot, several days hitting 100, and dry in town. I was glad to see puddles on the road, and found .8 inches in the gauge -- apparently falling earlier Thursday. I woke to this thick fog in the valley.

Garden
I picked the garden before breakfast to avoid some of the heat. Lots of cherry tomatoes and some others, a few bell peppers (none orange), a few hot peppers, and some black-eyed peas. Later I weeded, and even though the ground seemed pretty wet I went ahead and hand watered before I left.

Apples
There were still apples on the Gold Rush, with just a few on the ground and chewed on. I picked a couple and took the mostly whole ones that were on the ground. The pie I had made with the green ones from the previous week was okay, but not as good as I had hoped.

Sprayed
I had gotten some diesel to mix in with the Clear Pasture. The first tank I took down to the buck-brush in the little pen at the bottom. The spray had been somewhat effective in July, but it was obvious it will take repeat applications to knock this stuff out. The remainder of the tank I took to the field above the pond where there is still some sumac and lots of viney thistle.

The next tank I hiked up the hill and continued mopping up the sumac in the upper pasture. Its looking pretty good, though I keep stumbling on patches of sumac. We're letting the center part grow up (not brush hogged the past two years) and trees are 8-10 feet. I waded through these searching out sumac as well.

Lop
While down by the pond, I took my loppers into the back area where I first planted pines that got brush hogged, then walnuts, and finally red oaks three years ago. I wanted to lop the persimmon while the leaves were still on and I could recognize them. Lots of pines have survived, and probably half or less of the others. I even found a few cedars to whack. I didn't cover it all, but did ware myself out.

Mow
Once it dried out, I mowed the back area behind the house, around the spring, and the upper area on the other side of the spring and over by the swing.

Brush Whacking
The road was really grown up, especially round the cattle guard. So I took the brush whacker up one side, around the cattle guard, and back down the other. Its not running great, so I need to figure that out. Plus the bar used to hold it had cracked and the wire I duct tapped to it isn't working that great. Oh well.

Swallows
These baby barn swallows were peering out at us the previous weekend as well. They were so cute -- several nests and 15 or so birds all watching as I would walk through the barn. I wish I had gotten a better picture.

July 31-Aug 1, '10

I didn't come out the weekend before because of my MOHS surgery and the honking can't get it wet compression bandage I had on my nose. Sally did come out that Friday to water and pick and sweat. She said there was a big rat sitting in the rafters of the garage watching her the whole day. She only got 8 peaches off the Alberta, squirrels or coons had gotten the rest. She picked a few off the huge volunteer down the hill, but they were still very green.

Hot applied to this weekend as well. Sally saw the thermometer hit 99. I even came in for a break Saturday afternoon. And no rain at all in the gauge.

Watering
Boy was it dry. I brought a sprinkler out and bungied it to the garden fence. I planted the rain gauge in the dirt and then let it run a couple of hours, which amounted to almost 2 inches. The next day I tied it to the opposite fence and let it run about an hour. I also ran a little sprinkler I have on the Gold Rush apple and 3-in-1 pear, and let a hose drip on the baby Pixie Delight apple, the other apple which is probably gone (tiny apples hanging on but all the leaves were dead and dried), the baby buckeye, the 3 dogwoods, the new baby maple, and the barely surviving Japanese maple. I filled the drip bucket twice on the baby oak in the back, but I am afraid it may be a goner since it has lost most all of its leaves. And then there was hand watering of peonies, disobedience, rose, northern red oak, and the six year old maple. I really don't like summer in the Ozarks.

Peaches
The big volunteer had been cleaned out during the week. The little volunteer still had some nice size peaches that were still green, so I picked about a dozen. Many on this tree were just drying up and dying. Not sure if these will be edible or not.

Blackberries
I didn't see any, though Sally did find a couple. The bushes are stressed from the heat and lack of water, and the raspberries are really burned up (they may be goners). Sunday I pulled grass around more plants and laid out newspapers, holding it in place with cedar sticks from the fire pile. Sally says I am wasting my time and the blackberries in the wild don't get that kind of attention. But this is my yard, and that bermuda will just take over.

Apples
The apples on the Gold Rush are looking good. But apparently that is also the opinion of the wild life, as there were about 8 on the ground, some partially chewed on. Of course they are still real green, but I can eat them. I picked up the ones off the ground and picked a few more to make a pie. We'll see if there are any left the next weekend. I'm thinking I should get a trap next year – and start using it in the spring to thin out the competition for my fruit.

Garden
We picked buckets of cherry tomatoes, and quite a few regular ones. But, the bottom of many of the stripies were rotting. Many of the bell peppers are burning on the side facing the sun and are left with a thin brown skin on that side. Only one has actually turned orange this summer. No more green beans, they were all too large and tough (though we did cook some up for Tender), 1 more onion, a few hot peppers, and some black eyed peas – though many were just a few days from being ready. Unfortunately the basil was struggling with the dry weather, but liked the watering. We had some summer spinach with our eggs, but its not looking very good either. I also weeded the garden Sunday morning.

High Wheel
I took this beast down the road and then around the barn. I kept pulling the spark plug wire off when getting under the fence. It can sure take down the weeds, but it is really tough to wrestle on un-even ground – and that's mostly what I have. I almost tipped it over several times. I'm wondering if I should have just gotten another big brush whacker.

Mow and Weedeat
Before mowing, I sharpened the extra set of mower blades and put them on. That's a slow process with my 6" bench grinder, and I probably could have done more, but I was anxious to get started. I mowed everything except the very back behind the house, the spring, and the section across the road from the house above the spring. It was so dusty I wore mask. As dry as it was, I still had to use the highest setting on the low section of the road down by the creeks where the big sycamore is. Sunday I went ahead and sharpened the blades I had taken off the day before – since the grinder was already out.

I finished weed eating the back hill, which had only partially been gotten two weeks before.