Oct. 22-23, 2010

Sally had an appointment with Ted in Harrison, so we met at the farm. We had .3" in the rain gauge, and got another quarter inch Saturday afternoon before leaving. But it continued to rain on us all the way home so the garden should have gotten a good soaking.

Mow
I wanted to get the loud business taken care of before Sally and Tender arrived, so I jumped on the mower and did the front and back yards. I figure the rest can wait for a killing frost -- we'll see.

Black Walnuts
I drove across the creek and up into the back pasture to see what nuts I could find. There were only three trees out of more than a dozen I checked that had produced. This small tree was probably the best. I gathered 6 buckets which translated into two bag fulls. (I use the old 50 lb sunflower seed bags.) That was what I was doing when Sally arrived -- she saw me and yelled across the valley.

Saturday I picked up another two bag fulls from the tree below the pond (my best and most consistent producer) and another couple of trees. I'll pick up more in town, and then hope to get them hulled on the way back out next weekend.

Garden
We picked lots of lettuce, bok chow, several yellow and orange bell peppers (oh so sweet), a pint worth of hot peppers I canned, some spinach and tomatoes, and lots of summer spinach that Sally steamed and froze. We even got a few onions. For dinner we had a big salad, adding some cucumber and feta we brought plus green olives.

We wanted to make a big double batch of pesto, but the basil was bitter. We presumed that this was due to the dry spell we have had, and hope it will be better next week.

Lit Pilots
I picked up some canned air on the way out. Friday night I used that along with carburetor cleaner and WD40 to clean and blow out the pilots on the two problematic propane heaters. One lit right up and burned good -- the flame right next to the pilot. The other not so good, leaving the smell of gas in the air. I shut it down, blew it out some more, and then it burned better though there was still a touch of yellow to the flame. At least there was no more smell.

Wood
Sally and I loaded the truck with more wood to bring back to the house. Its sure nice having a large supply of cut, cured, and dry wood for winter.

Oct. 15-16, 2010

This was my first trip out in three weeks due to taking my annual Colorado pilgrimage. It had been two weeks since Sally was out, and we had received zero rain during all that time. We were concerned about the garden.

Garden
We were surprised to find that the bok chow, lettuce, bell peppers, and hot peppers had done just fine and looked great -- as you can tell from the pictures. The basil was struggling so we deferred picking any of it. There were still some cherry tomatoes, but they weren't great. A few more onions have shown up, so it will be interesting to see if they mature. We left lots of produce for the next weekend. Interestingly, the hot peppers seem to be getting hotter -- Sally couldn't even eat the one she put in our stir fry.

We pulled up all the black eyed peas. A bit of a job because they get inter-twined in the chicken wire fence. I also weeded and Sally watered both Friday and Saturday.

We found this tomato horn worm trying to burrow into the ground. I'd heard they go through a large moth stage, and bet that the cocoon I dug up last spring was one of these fellows.

Culverts
The pond has been below the culverts for months. Where it is leaking, I am not sure. I dug up the high grass that had grown up in front of and around the culverts, but still couldn't tell where it is going through. On the outlet side of the dam I could find a small trickle of water way down low. I'm just not sure what I need to do. I also checked the creek feeding the pond, and there was practically no flow their either. This is about the driest I have every seen gum spring.

Mow
The grass wasn't bad except for the low part of the road on the way to the pond. I cranked up the riding mower and took it down, partly to just try and keep the battery charged.

Wood
I loaded the truck with wood to bring back to the house -- beginning to think about and prepare for winter.

Autumn Blaze
This little maple we transplanted twice is doing well and had brilliant red leaves. All the trees seem to be a bit late turning this year. Off course the sassafras has been turning for two months -- it begins when the dry weather sets in.

Poulan
Last outing I had determined that this weed eater was not getting fuel. Sure enough, the weighted gas filter on the end of the flexible line within the tank had broken off. Its a bit shorter now, but I re-attached it. Still couldn't get it started, so I took it apart and found the feed line from the priming bulb was also disconnected. I can only presume that occurred due to my vigorous pumping of the primer during my failed attempts to get it started. Once it was back together it ran fine -- though I still don't like the head I have on it.

Snake Skin
Most years in the late summer and fall we have found one or two large snake skins in this same area -- out front by the road just above from the spring. One year it was in good enough shape I tacked it to the wall under the porch. This guy (or gal) has to be at least 5 feet long. I have no idea what kind it is, and hope I never find out.

Bathed Tender
It was time, and plenty warm, so he got a bath under the hose. We got in a little hammock time while he dried and before heading back home.