Oct. 21-23, 2011

Seasons are changing -- we had a light freeze this week. It didn't seem to bother the jalapeno or the spinach, but the other established plants in the garden got nipped. Baby bock chow and chard were unaffected. I picked a bunch of jalapenos and few squash (most were still green, I hope they ripen even though there is less foliage). Those itty bitty tomatoes were all we got. We did have another inch in the rain gauge. I decided to go ahead and bring it in so it doesn't freeze and break.

Mow

We may be well into fall, but I still needed to mow. Went down around the pond, the spring, the barn, and the front yard. Saturday I got the high wheel trimmer out for the first time all year and cut the high grass around the pond and under the fence along the level stretches by the road. Handling it is a work out, but it wasn't bad. Just before dark, Tender and I went back to the pond and I raked what clippings I could out of the water. (There was just a trickle running through the north culvert.)

Walnuts

Friday I picked up two bags of nuts under the tree by the old home site. I brought them up to the drive and on Saturday stomped and rolled them under my boots to remove the hulls. I've got two bags which I left in the rabbit hutch to dry. We'll see how this method works out. I don't plan to pick up any to have commercially hulled -- I've still got lots from last year and there are no longer any hullers close by. I did make banana bread Friday night using a new recipe with buttermilk (and a good cup and half of walnuts). Mighty good.

Treat House

I also scrubbed down the north side of the house Friday. It cleaned up really nice. On Saturday, after it dried, I applied a coating of the Clear Wood Finish I use. I think I had 4 rows of boards to go at the top when this picture was taken. (It's kind of whitish before it dries.)

Oct. 14-15, 2011

Weather

It was great -- sunny and low 70s both days. It was hard to leave. We also had 2.25 inches in the rain gauge, which was very nice since it had dried up again.

Hammock

The weekend before I had just gotten the hammock stand set-up -- first time all year. It wasn't dry enough in the spring and then it got so hot so fast. These last two weekends have been ideal for it.

Pulled Weeds

While Sally lounged I pulled many large weeds that had grown up around the black berries. I'm not sure there is much use though, as I will be surprised if many of the plants survive -- they just burned up in spite of my attempts to water. I also took the brush whacker to that area, the hill in the back, and around the barn. Still much more to do, but at least the growth should cease soon.

Garden

Sally picked lots of jalapenos, so Sunday we had Chris and Lindsey over for stuffed jalapenos (cream cheese inside and bacon out). They were good, but we couldn't finish off what we had made with 12 oz. of bacon. Sally also got a few more squash, but left many. Her fall seeds are showing a little progression, but not much. I think the rain will help. I weeded the garden.

Walnuts

There are an amazing number of walnuts considering the hot dry weather we suffered through. I found that I could step on them to break the hull, and then role them under my foot to remove most of the hull. I picked up what I could find around the house Friday -- without gloves. That was a mistake as my right hand is very stained. They were very wet and yellow/green, but everything turns black later.

Saturday I went down around the pond, but found most under the tree by the creeks confluence and the one near the old home site. I think I have a full bag which I left in the rabbit hutch to dry (20% of what I had last year). I used gloves, but my left hand still ended up with some stain.

I took this picture in the office after charging my phone. Apparently I left the radio on Friday night and it drained the battery constantly searching for a signal (which doesn't exist at the house without the external antennae).

Other than some sudoku challenges and relaxed reading, that was it for our farm time.

Oct. 7-8, 2011

Wow, another 4 week period without getting out here. That's too long. Sally did come out during that period to tend the garden, but I was out of town 3 weekends in a row.

Weather/Garden

The first week I was gone there was heavy rain, 5+ inches. But then it dried up again and you could tell it. The garden needed watering badly and my baby trees had only a few leaves left. (I believe deer were responsible for most of that.) The burn ban was off -- good news. The temperature was also nice, about 80 and sunny each day. The walnut and ash trees were turning, so the hills were pretty (haven't seen any change in town yet).

Sally picked more butternut squash, and the plants continue to put on fruit. They were stretching out into the yard and I had to move them to mow. A few of her fall garden seeds had just barely sprouted. The jalapeno continues to be prolific, but the bell pepper is barely hanging on. The summer spinach has survived and we had some with our eggs, and new baby spinach is sprouting.

Tarantula

We usually see one of these guys this time of the year, though I don't recall any last fall. This fellow was moving fast across the road down by the pond when I was mowing. Luckily I had brought my phone camera and was able to get some snap shots. I just put my boot in front of him and he climbed right up -- I wanted to get a picture with some perspective. I've hear the males move out of the nest in the fall and venture out on their own. They always seem to be traveling like this guy was. The others we've seen have all been right behind the house.

Mow/Weed-eat

The grass was heavy and high in the normal spots, elsewhere the weeds had to be cut. Some areas, like across the spring and around the swing, had been mowed in 8 weeks. I also took the brush whacker up the road, around the cattle guard, back down the other side, and did the hill south of the house. More is needed, but there is no rush this time of year.

Flag Trees

I'm getting ready for brush hogging and so walked the creeks trying to find the pecans I put out years back so I could flag them. I found 3 along Plume Creek and 5 along Gum. Many of those had leaves coming up from the root, so they aren't getting any bigger. I'm surprised anything survived this summer. I also flagged along the line of pines back and above the pond. Found many deer scrapes like shown here on a young pine. Maybe I should take up hunting.

Thistle

While mowing I had noticed some thistle by Plume Creek, but when I went down to flag the trees I forgot to get a shovel and a bag. I ended up pulling up several patches and just laid them in the back of the truck to take to the house and bag. This was a mistake because I was bouncing up the road I could see the seeds flying out the back. Oh well.