July 22-23, 2011

Sally joined me, although I can't say that she was very excited about spending another hot and dry weekend of this miserable summer at the farm. Actually we received a small rain shower as soon as we arrived. I just sat on the porch soaking in the experience. It lasted about 20 minutes, though most of that time it was just a drizzle. Too bad it didn't amount to more, not even a tenth of an inch in the gauge. Oh well, I'll just continue watering. The cloud cover was nice while it lasted, but man was it hot and humid once it cleared.

We've now had August weather in June and July. I just hope we don't have August in August. Surely this hellish summer will eventually end.

Temperatures

From my observation, it hit 97 Friday and 98 Saturday and the overnight low was only 80. In the house, I had left the living room closed off and it was 86 in there while only 82 in the core of the structure. After running the AC in the living room for 24 hours, it was 78 in there and 79 in the rest of the house when we left. Its amazing that that one window unit can keep the entire house comfortable in this, the hottest of, weather. (Drats, I forgot to close off the living room when we left, which I am now convinced should be the standard summer time procedure.)

Watering and Road Work

These activities once again accounted for most of my time. (With no rain there is no need to mow). I only got one load of mud up onto the road. This picture shows my buckets before loading into the truck. I think I am now done on the upper road, and need to continue my work down the road from the house.

Walking Stick

I showed a picture of a walking stick that had gotten into my truck last week. This one I noticed in my Northern Red Oak while out with Tender early Saturday morning. I believe he is the largest one I have ever observed. I didn't get this picture until Saturday afternoon just before leaving – he was still in the same tree. I wonder what he eats.

Garden

I did not find any more hornworms on the tomatoes. Good. But there are also no tomatoes. Apparently no one has tomatoes because the overnight temperatures are not cool enough to set the blooms. The jalapeno, basil, chard, summer spinach and butternut squash are all doing well. Sally thinks the squash will get even bigger. We did pick one but haven't tried it yet. We got enough basil for another double recipe of pesto, and more jalapenos and chard than we can eat in a week. The spinach is beginning to flower. The zinnias are doing poorly – hardly any worth cutting.

Baby Blue Birds

I had forgotten to check the weekend before to see if the blue bird eggs had hatched, and I was afraid the babies might have grown and left the nest already. But they were still there. I didn't see the mom (or dad), and this one in the front was the only one I saw move – just a bunch of feathers behind him. I hope they are all well and getting fed.

Sole Peach

While watering the blackberries, I looked up at the almost bare peach tree and was very surprised to see a single peach right at the top. I picked it and ate it later. A little green and a few signs of something nibbling on it, but it was good.

Autumn Blaze

The suckers coming off the stump of this tree had really grown – so much so that it was looking like a bush. It had also filled the wire cage I had put around it the weekend before to keep the deer off. So I trimmed off all but 3 branches and put a bigger cage around it. I can't believe how it is thriving now (especially after the initial suckers that came off just up and died, although I wasn't watering it at that time).

Worms on the Hickories

I was very pleasantly surprised to find no sign of the fuzzy little critters I had found the weekend before defoliating the little hickories. Of course I had squashed every one I could find, but I really figured more would have arrived. I hope they stay away. Webworms are showing up elsewhere, so I suppose that is what is getting the walnuts.

July 15-16, 2011

Sally had a Zen retreat Saturday, so I came out alone via the short cut – thinking I would get some more wild berries. But it has been just too hot and too dry (in spite of a half inch in the rain gauge). The blackberry floricanes (second year, fruit bearing) are just burning up with berries on them. I found only a few edible ones to snack on, and nothing to collect. My cultivated thorn-less ones are not doing any better. I picked some, but most berries are dying on the vine (cane). The prima canes (which will produce next year) are practically the only ones left with any green leaves.

House and Temperatures

It was 96 degrees outside when I arrived, 83 in the living room (addition to the cinder block structure), and 80 in the core of the house. I find it amazing the internal temperature is not higher, especially considering that in town my AC will run all afternoon and sometimes only keep the temperature at 80. First thing I do is turn on the AC in the addition, and a little fan on the floor to blow cool air into the rest of the house.

So by Saturday afternoon when I was leaving the outside temperature was 97, it was 78 in the living room, and 77 in the main house – cooler than the room with the AC in it! As an experiment for the next weekend, I closed off the living room and will be anxious to see how I find the internal temperatures. (And the week's forecast is for many 100 degree days and lows of only 78 some nights).

Nut Trees being Eaten

I first noticed the 15 foot walnut tree growing just below the house had no leaves, just the stems from which the leaves grew. Then I noticed the tops of several of the smaller hickories I'm letting grow were also being eaten. I could see the worms on these just munching away. I don't think they are what got the walnut, because I found partial damage on many other walnuts but not the same worms.

Not knowing how to best attack the invaders, I just used a gloved hand to squash the pests. I was able to get most all of them on three different trees, but I am sure armies more will appear to finish the job. I suspect this invasion is related to the hot dry summer, and I hope the trees will recover. Luckily, there is no sign of damage (yet) on any of my babies I put out in the spring (and have been hand watering).

Water

Three hours Friday, 3 hours Saturday, trip justification, same as weeks past.

Mow

The grass that is not getting water is not growing and so there is very little mowing needed – I think it's been a month. But the road to the pond down by the big Sycamore has thick green grass (I know there is a little spring in that area, but there must be a broader seep as well), as does the south side of the pond (a spring there as well). So I mowed down and back.

Garden

I think I previously miss-identified the squash we are growing. Sally told me its Butternut, and it is taking over the garden. There were two plants originally in this mound, and its spreading like the tentacles of an octopus. There are another couple of plants on the far end doing the same. The summer spinach is to the far right and the tomatoes are just right and being squeezed out by the squash and zinnias (and still being eaten by hornworms). Behind the squash is the basil, bell pepper, and jalapeno. On the far side (and on the end to the left) is the chard. The green beans (to the left) are shot, though I did get enough for 1 serving for dinner. I brought chard, spinach, and 1 squash home.

Road Work

I got some road repair in, working up the hill this weekend. I got one load of buckets and rocks on Friday, harvesting the mud uphill from the East end of the barn (it was shaded in the afternoon). I thought I would have shade Saturday morning, but I didn't get out early enough. Saturday I took the mud from the lower edge of the bluff behind the barn – my traditional spot. After filling the buckets I split a few more of the red oak logs I picked up on the short-cut earlier in the summer. You can see the truck loaded, the harvest site, tools, and the split oak all in this picture.

Walking Stick

I saw one of these guys at the cattle guard when I arrived. He moved to the opposite side of the post so I couldn't get a picture. This one was sitting in the drivers seat when I was done with the road work and ready to come back down the hill. I carefully moved him back outside.

July 8-9, 2011

Weather

The misery continues with more hot and dry weather. It was in the upper 90s both days, although the thermometer near the roof of the garage showed 102 Saturday (in the shade, but I suspect influenced by its proximity to the roof). Fayetteville set a record of 99 on Saturday (and 102 on Sunday). We had 8-10 drops in the rain gauge, so something fell but nothing significant. I'm somewhat surprised I have been able to keep things alive with only weekly waterings.

Berries/Short Cut

Sally wanted to see the blackberries I had been bragging about getting along the short cut, so we came out that way. I was a bit disappointed, and she was less than impressed. We did find many, ate most, and ended up with 1.5 to 2 cups. Many of the ones along the road, just like at the farm, are drying up on canes that are dying of thirst (no green leaves). I picked a few cups at the farm, but nothing close to what we had last year. I was worried about my new canes dying as well, so I spent an hour or so hand watering them along with everything else.

Watering

This is practically all I got done. I estimated that I spent 3 hours each day hand watering everything -- just trying to keep things alive. I dread what August might bring.

This is the Autumn Blaze maple whose bark split over the winter, it leafed out and immediately died, I cut it off, it sprouted on one side and died, and now has sprouts coming up from the other side. I hope it survives. It was put out on Sunbridge, moved to Elm St., and brought out here in '04. I put the cage around it to hopefully keep the deer from eating its new tender leaves.

Garden

We picked chard (surprisingly it doesn't seem to be affected by the lack of water), some green beans (they are really stressed), 4 cups of basil (what Sally is doing in this picture), and a couple of jalapenos.

The tomatoes are just not doing much. I've heard that others are having problems with them as well. (It started out too cool and wet, and now it is too hot and dry.) The hornworms have shown up as well, taking most of the top of our larger plant. I picked over a dozen off, and even found one on the bell pepper. We're just hoping we don't get the blasted squash beetles, since we are counting on a acorn squash crop.

Blue Bird Nest Out Back

I checked this house thinking I would find baby birds, because I had observed the eggs over the previous two weekends. I had thought there were only three, but as you can see there are four. The mother always leaves the house as I approach -- I guess she has keen hearing. I've never seen the male. Hopefully he will be there to help feed them when they hatch. I also hope no wild critter gets 'em.

July 1-2, 2011

The Bloodmobile didn't show (had received a post card weeks before, but no phone call this week -- hmm), but it was still 4:00 by the time we arrived. Sally had a funeral to attend Saturday, so we came in two cars. Another hot and dry week, although there was about .1 inch in the gauge. It was 94 Friday and 95 Saturday.

Wasp

I thought I would see what was in the well house. Luckily I donned a glove before grabbing the lid and lifting it open, because this wasp nest was right next to where I take hold. I sprayed the ones that stayed around and squashed the nest. I always try to wear a glove (or look first), because once I was stung by a scorpion (really hurt). BTW, there was just one mouse taking shelter inside.

Watered Everything

Same as last week, though things didn't look quite as wilted. It sure eats up time doing it all by hand.

Garden

Sally picked green beans (many too big), chard, spinach for breakfast, 4 cups of basil, and two jalapenos. She's really excited about the acorn squash and has decided that this is going to be our main produce for the year. There are lots of squash growing and they are still flowering like crazy. (You can see some fruit and also drought damage on some of the leaves in this picture.) I didn't understand why, but she started pulling up the distressed looking green bean plants.

I picked 3 or 4 cups of blackberries over both days. I got another 2 cups on the shortcut on the way home.

Road Maintenance

I brought the wheel barrow out from town since I planned to start work on the erosion just below the house. I first filled it with some of the extra rocks around the house, and then wheeled it down to the work site. I spread the rocks into the ruts left by the heavy rains.

I then took the wheel barrow over to the bluff just upside of the barn. I decided to take mud from the front in order to minimize the distance I had to push it. (I usually harvest from the back by filling buckets and loading them into the truck, but with not far to go I thought I would try this.) Here is a picture of the borrow pit I created. Some of this needed to come out anyway because the hill keeps creeping toward the barn. This is the first time the side door to the barn has actually been able to be fully opened since we bought the place.

I say mud, but with our current conditions it is extremely hard, heavy, clumps of clay. Working a bit loose with the adz left me panting and soaked with sweat in the heat. I'd break some loose, take a breather, shovel it into the wheel barrow, and then do it again. Wheeling it over to work site was also difficult due to the weight – especially those loads I had to run up hill.

After getting the mud into the ruts and covering the rocks, I'd stomp it in and further break up any big clods using the shovel. I'd then dress it using some gravel from any nearby source (there are many) -- sprinkling the gravel over the top. Without the gravel, when it gets wet the mud will stick to the truck tires and get pulled out. Four loads was all I was good for. Many more are needed. This is a picture of the finished product in one area.

Brush Whacker

I made the mistake of filling the tank and then tackled the area in front of and behind the barn, and by the spring. Since I still had gas I did the hill by the house. Since I still had gas I started working on the hill behind the house. I was wiped out, but if you leave this beast sitting up right with gas in the tank it will just drain out somehow. I then realized I could just leave it on its side – which I did since I was ready to quit.