April 5-6, 2014

This was a boys weekend since Sally was off to Salt Lake City training. We had very pleasant weather: 60s, 40s, and 50s. The rain barrels were already full, but the ground was not too wet in spite of the Thursday rain.

Spray Pond

The first order of business was to spray herbicide on the other half of the pond to kill the algae and grass that has started growing. I had done the south and west ends the previous week. There was some improvement but not a total eradication. I decided to do a mop up second application on Sunday. I hope this takes care of the problem.

Bird Nests

There are blue bird nests in all four of our houses. The first was at the pond, where there were already these three eggs. There was also another type of bird nest under the cap of the propane tank with little tan speckled eggs. They have built nest here before, and I just try to keep from disturbing them too much. (The propane tank was at 30%, what a cold winter.)

Weed and Weed Eat

I did some weed eating around the house and the hill with the John Deere, and spent another hour or so tackling the spring weeds in the garden. It is about an even match so far, but I cannot afford to lose any ground (ha, a pun) to them. The garlic looks great, the onions are hanging on, there are sprouts on the spinach but no real growth, and the kale is still a no show.

Exterior Waterproofing Finish

I bought another gallon of the Flood Exterior Waterproofing Finish cedar tone and did the north side of the house. I think it looks really good. It was so dull and seemed dirty, but came out looking almost new. I will have to decide whether to use the same on the other sides.

Fruit

The nectarine was in its second week of bloom, and almost finished. It does not appear that we will have the fruit load of the previous year, which is okay if they will get bigger. I never made it down to the back of the barn and could not see any pear blooms from above. I hope they bloom and we see more pears than last year.

Turkey

While piddling out back I heard and the saw this big bird come flying down the hill right into the drive behind the house. It really startled me. He was totally unafraid, and I wondered if he was the same bird that had followed me around the farm the previous year. Just as then, he went over and pecked at his reflection in the bumper of the truck. Then, I had figured he was a domestic bird that had escaped. But I do not believe he could have survived, so am guessing it is just a friendly wild bird. Pretty strange.

Walnuts

I cracked some more nuts, bagged them up, and left them in the freezer. I am way behind on the picking.

Mower

I got the mower out Sunday to make sure it would start and to do a little mowing. It was total dead. I couldn't get it to do anything even when jumping the battery. I even switched batteries, but nothing at all. Then I drove into Berryville, bought a new battery, brought it back, put it in, but still nothing. I then resigned myself to bringing it to town to turn over to Bill the Lawnmower Man for repair. I rigged up the come-a-long with chains and ropes and winched it into the truck in stages, chocking the wheels while I took up the slack and played out the come-a-long for another go. It actually went better than I imagined it would

Poulan Chain

I had bought a new chain for the Poulan, an Oregon semi-chisel versus the saftey chain I had always used. I am anxious to try it out -- which will have to wait for another trip.

March 29-30, 2014

Sally suffering from a cold and Tender just suffering (still trying to figure it out and lick it) staid back in town. It was a very pleasant weekend, after a heavy rain Friday. Sunny both days with low 60s Saturday, low 30s overnight, and upper 60s and Sunday.

Spray Pond

The first order of business was to get the backpack sprayer out and ensure it still worked, since I do not believe I ever used it last year. I filled it and added some Cutrine Plus and headed for the pond. I knew the road would be extremely soft by the sycamores, so I just parked at the creek confluence and walked to the pond. The algae/grass has gotten pretty bad -- I could see it from the house. I sprayed the south shore line and west end. Next weekend I will do the rest. I hope to get it in control before it gets out of hand. I'd like to get more grass carp if I could find a source.

I walked the pasture on the way back and looked for antler sheds (didn't find any) and checked for thistle. I did find a thistle patch near where Ben was going to build another dam -- the area I let it get out of hand (go to seed) last year or the year before. I kicked it up.

Opposite the road is the old home site. These daffodils come up there every year. Spring has sprung.

Well House Insulation

With nice moderate temperatures having arrived, I went ahead and removed the insulation from the well house. Even though this 10 year old stuff is pretty ragged and needs to be replaced, I decided to keep it on hand. I saw three mice as I opened the house up, and could see their burrows into the insulation. I wonder if I bagged some of them up (never saw them during that process)?

Showing

I had a showing of the place at 2pm. A local couple that live just off Rock House Road closer to town. They are looking for a smaller house and more level ground. Surprisingly, our place had more level spots than their current 22 acres. They own two places and will need to sell one before making a change. I hope I hear from the again, but I've learned you can never let your hopes get up in the real estate business.

Walnuts and Burn

I cracked some more walnuts. I have plenty begging to be picked in town, so I left this batch in the freezer. While doing that I went ahead and burned the honeysuckle we had trimmed from the west side of the garage. I also cut, trimmed and pulled out dead ivy that lives adjacent to the honeysuckle. It is looking good and tidy there, but will be nicer once both show some new growth.

Garden

The weeds are getting out of hand. Some small leafed something has matted roots and is coming up in the packed lanes. It is very difficult to get out without taking all the soil. I worked on it both days. I did clear another mound and planted some bush beans and Italian peppers. No real growth yet on the spinach, the kale is still a no show, and the onions look pitiful. Hopeful some more steady spring rain will improve things.

Rocks for the Road

I picked up 14 buckets of rocks. One from back of the house, two from back of the barn, but most came from the hillside by the road to the barn. I hauled these down and spread them in the soft spots of the road by the sycamores. It was very soft there. I am beginning to wonder if this process will ever firm up the road. It is obvious the seep that used to be beside the road toward the creeks has moved and is the cause of this problem. (I did drive the couple from the showing to the pond, but chose to drive across the creek and the pasture to get there.)

Firsts

This was the first time ever that I have seen moles, or rather their tunnels. It was over past the spring under the cedar there. I hope something gets them (as I hope something gets the armadillos). I also saw a wood chuck duck into a cave in the bluffs behind the house. We had them years back, but this is the first time I've seen one in years.

Flood CWF

I could not find any Flood Clear Wood Finish at Home Depot, the stuff I (and Eddie before me) have always used on the outside of the house (and the Lovable Loo and picnic table and well house and ...). Instead I got their product called Exterior Waterproofing Finish, cedar tone. I am guessing they have transitioned, so needed to find out how this would work. I put it on the Loo, which really got dried out last year. I liked it. The tone seemed a little dark, but it looked good. I then did the picnic table, which really soaked it up. A nice improvement. Next I did a low corner of the house on the north side. I really liked the way it brightened up the siding, so I plan to get some more and do the entire house.

Fire Wood

I split all but 8 of the logs I had left in the back of the barn. Then I loaded up the 24 inch ones and brought them back to town -- that was everything I had split and just about all I can store at the house.