Nov. 19-20, 2010

Sally had stuff to do in town, so this was a solo trip.

Insulation
I had to get gas on the way out, and since that was taking me by Lowe's I decided to go ahead and get some more insulation for the attic -- a project I had started last spring. (To hot to get up there during the warmer months.)

There was a rebate if I spent $399, so I bought 6 bags of R19 (6.5" thick, 23" wide, by 93" long), with 9 bats in each bag. I could only fit 3 in the truck, so I've got to go back and pickup up the other three later. I plan to use 2 bags or so in town to line the perimeter of the attic before getting more insulation blown in (so the blown insulation doesn't cover my eve vents).

Late Friday I started on the east end of the house. Using our rickety 1975 wooden step ladder, I could push 6 bats up through the roof cutout in the hall. I would then go up and spread them, using a long beaver stick to push them back into the tight corner where the roof rafters and the ceiling joist meet. The joist were on 24" centers, so the bats fit nicely. It turns out the house is 24' wide, and so it took three bats to cross the house and I didn't have to do any cutting. I got two bags (18 bats) done Friday before I was wiped out by the stooping and crawling around up there.

First thing Saturday I spread the remaining bag. Other than a few bare spots in the center, I had reached the area over the kitchen and bath where I had spread the R13 bats last spring. I've still got several rolls of that to spread, but may need to purchase even more to complete the west end of the house. I am hoping to see some improvement in propane use, and maybe even cooler temps in the summer. With the new insulation I have gone from 3.5" to 10", and with the R13 3.5" to 7".

Flood CWF
I had bought two more gallons of this Clear Wood Finish, and since the temperature was still warm enough I finished up the west end of the house first thing Friday afternoon. (This was a project I had started 3 or 4 weeks earlier.) Last thing Saturday, I finished the west end and began on the porch. The T111 siding under the porch had never been treated but was showing the weather at the bottom (and was really dry). I only got about 25% of that area done before it was time to head back.

Fire Wood
During the middle of the day Saturday I cut up more of the big White Oak that has been down for over 2 years now. It turns out there are two big white oaks down, plus lots of hickory trees and limbs inter-mixed. The area is still a big mess, but I'm getting it cleaned up. One of the hickories was still green and growing even though it had been laid over and laid on by the bigger trees. I got two loads which I stacked in the back of the barn where I will split it this winter so that it will be cured and ready for next season. These are 18" logs, so they are destined for Chicago or Denver.

This was all cut with the McCulloch. It was difficult to get it started, but it sure cut good once it was going. Although, by the end of the second tank of gas I could tell the chain needed sharpening. I also took the Stihl down, but even though I had just sharpened the chain it would not cut. This chain has practically no teeth left and I think I just need to lower (file down) the depth gauges -- next trip.

Walnuts
The two bags I had stashed in the rabbit hutch were still secure, so I added one more full bag and the partial bag I had hand hulled. I had a little trouble getting a stick jammed in the door to lock it, but I think it will work fine. The remaining two bags I've decided to store in the basement at home. I am anxious to get cracking and to sample the harvest.

Friday night I made some date nut bread with black walnuts, adding coconut and bran. Very tasty toasted with cream cheese. I've still got over 2 quarts of nuts from years past.

First
I didn't see them, but I heard the first geese of the season flying south. Their honking is sure loud.

Short Cut
I went out and came back via the short cut. I saw no one on the way out, but passed two parked trucks coming back. I returned that way since it was about dusk and I figured there was less chance of hitting a deer going 15-20mph. I'm sure the trucks were deer hunters. I read that 1 out of every 99 registered vehicles in Arkansas will hit a deer each year!

Nov. 5-6, 2010

I was first in line when the Bloodmobile opened at 1:00, but it still meant we got to the farm later than I would like -- almost 4pm. Day time temperatures were nice, near 70, and the trees were showing their fall color. We had a light freeze overnight, but not as hard as had been received the night before (Friday morning). It finished off the basil.

Walnuts
The huller had left lots of nuts un-hulled. So I went through the bags picking those out. The dust off the nuts was really bad and had me sneezing and my nose running. There were more un-hulled nuts in some bags than in others, which made me wonder if he had made some adjustment to the huller during the process. Perhaps to better handle these smaller nuts.

I used a hammer and/or pliers to get the hulls off the ones the huller had missed. Pounding them with the hammer was definitely faster. I ended up with 5 full bags, plus about a quarter of a bag that I had manually hulled. It will be interesting to see if they have any different taste or ratio of bad to good nuts.

I left two bags in the rabbit hutch, and have the rest in the back of the truck. I suspect I will store them downstairs in town, but if the rabbit hutch proves secure enough (I locked the door by jamming it with a stick) I may leave more at the farm. I'm still considering the attic as well.

Garden
With freezing weather, I had taken the rain gauge in so I wasn't sure if we had gotten any rain. There was a chance only one day early in the week. Either way the garden was very dry. Sally picked lettuce, bok chow, and spinach. She left 1 or two lettuce and bok chow plants since we had more than enough to eat. We'll see if they make it to our next trip. We've really enjoyed this fall crop.

Cut Trees
I carried the Stihl up the hill to cut more of the pines that had been laid over by the ice storm. This picture is of the largest, up by the pasture. Most were very small trees that had no chance of ever straightening up. I then started seeing many cedars and so started tackling them -- finishing off the tank of gas. I left the biggest cedar standing because the top was hung up in some oak branches. I hope a big wind will bring it down for me.

Oct. 30-31, 2010

Sally was in Chicago, so it was just me and Tender. The weather was great with temperatures in the 70s and mild nights.

Black Walnuts
I hit Asbell school again to complete my haul of nuts for the year -- I pretty much had a truck load with the bed full of bags of nuts. (I forgot to get a picture with the truck full, and snapped this one half way through the unloading/hulling operation.)

The huller I had used in 2007 and 2009 in Clifty wasn't operating anymore. There was a huller setup at the old Anderson's site on Hwy 45, but it wasn't listed on Hammons' web site and I couldn't find a phone number when I stopped by there on the way home the weekend before (and I had never seen anyone there). Hammons listed a Huller north of Berryville, one in Gentry, and one in Westville, OK. No listing for the one in Elm Springs which I had used in 2008. Since I didn't get an answer for the guy in Berryville, and I had time Friday afternoon, I decided to take them to Westville.

You can see the operation behind this feed store. They would buy the nuts from me for 11 cents a pound, or they would hull them for me and charge me 6 center a pound. I chose to keep all of mine and ended up with 6 bags and 280 pounds. In one of the recent years I had 150 pounds, so I will have my work cut out getting through these. But Mimi and Papa will pick out their own as Jackie will, and John has offered to help Amanda pick out theirs -- Yes!

Do you see all those bags stacked in the background behind the huller? Some day I would like to tour the Hammons operation to see how they do it. For now the nuts need to dry out. I've just got them in the back of the truck, but that will have to change. I've also noticed several that didn't get hulled, so I may dump them out and go through them. Some of mine were on the small size, so maybe that is why.

Garden
We had gotten .6 inches of rain, which must have come the Saturday before. The big event was the first killing freeze which we received Friday morning. It got the peppers, the tomatoes, and the one green bean plant. I was able to harvest a dozen or more bell peppers (though they had not yet turned yellow/orange) and a few of the hot peppers (I found the identifier for them, Santa Fe Grande's). The lettuce, bok chow, and tender spinach survived just fine so I brought more of that home. The summer spinach was slightly tan on the highest leaves, but I was able to pick as much as I wanted (got a quart). The ground was bone dry, so I watered the surviving plants both Saturday and Sunday.

Oil Barn Doors
I'd brought my extension ladder from home for the siding project, but I first used it to try and oil the barn doors. They sit on rollers at the top and slide back and forth. I couldn't get to them to actually use oil, so I just sprayed them with WD 40. It seemed to help -- not that I was having a problem with them.

Insulate Well House
With freezing temperatures arriving, I went ahead and spread the insulation over the top of the well house. There are 4 2x6s in there that create a ceiling for the insulation just below the roof. The system seems to work well with the submerged house.

Treat Cedar Siding
The big job for the weekend was to treat the cedar siding by painting it with a clear UV sealer. I brought the ladder out so I could do the high areas on the east and west ends of the house. I worked on the east end Saturday and the west end Sunday. I didn't finish both ends, but got most of it. What's left is low, so the ladder went back to town where it is needed regularly this time of the year to clear the gutters.