They filled the firewood frames in the garage and all the kindling bins. The wood he didn't want to burn was put in a stack by my maple sugar rig. Then they went by Dad's and stacked his wood for him that my sister and her husband had cut and split. We bought tarps and covered all the wood piles and my syrup rig.
I cleared a nice spot next to the chicken run where Tom can park the truck after we put the snow plow on it. And I am working on clearing back the fire zone around the house. There is more to do, but the yard is already looking much better.
My ankle is better though it gives me painful twinges most days. I go for x-rays again next week and hopefully will get the all clear on activities. I just have to admit that I cannot work at the pace I was used to working at any longer. Well, "slow and steady goes long into the day" is one of my favorite aphorisms and now it has a slightly different import for me!
After I got off crutches I managed to gimp out to my garden boxes and plant three of them with collards, mustard greens, and kale in one; Provider green beans in another; and lettuce, beets, radishes, patty pan squash, and onions in the third. The lettuce and beets just didn't grow, and the squash will not be able to mature before frost comes, but the rest are looking good. I figure I will have to put on hoops and row cover for them all soon because we may get frost and possibly even snow next week. We already had one night down to 38°F. Tom had planted one pole bean trellis and a handful of cucumber plants, and even with just a few plants I have been able to make several batches of sweet pickles, East India and cucumber relish, and several quarts of green beans. I would love to get another bushel of beans and a bushel of beets from somewhere. I am all out of beets. Fortune also shined on me this year with a bumper crop of black currants and raspberries from the forest garden, and Tom's black chokeberries in back of the house. I may yet get enough elderberries to make some cough syrup. I made lots of jam and a fine supply of brandy cordials to soothe away any winter blahs. I haven't tasted the black chokeberry jam yet, and as it is something I have not made before, I'm wondering if I should have made jelly instead of jam because when I tasted a raw berry it was awfully mealy. We'll find out soon enough! I read that chokeberries are very popular in Europe.
 |
| Titania Black Currants |
I worked on filling in and strengthening the brush fence, and I must say I like the way everything looks. I think it's rather picturesque.
With all the rain we had this year, everything grew spectacularly. (Too bad I didn't have my big garden!) The forest garden is a veritable jungle and I wonder if digging those swales last year was a factor. And I am glad to report that the red currants are coming back and looking great. I only lost two apples trees to last winter's wrath; a Paula Red and one Smokehouse. One of my remaining tasks is to cut paths through the forest garden. In another week I will check the hazelnut bushes and see if I have any nuts this year. Last winter was so long that I never even saw any blossoms on the apple, pear, or plum trees. And speaking of winter, our last snow came on May 15th. We had a visiting Chinese priest speak at our church earlier this year, and he commented that our area really reminded him of Siberia!!! I guess our little rural towns, marshes and woods are similar to what is over there in Russia. Maybe Dmitri Orlov ought to visit out here and give us his opinion. LOL.
The rose bushes in the chicken run are still blooming and they are heavy with hips. I think I will try to make some rose hip jelly this year and dry some hips for tea. I just love the rose scent on the air when I let the chickens out in the morning.
Speaking of chickens, one of my projects for this year was to build up my flock of Dominiques. I bought an incubator and gave it a try --
Fourteen of twenty eggs hatched and I have nine pullets! A man on one of the gardening/homesteading forums I frequent said that if you want pullets, put eggs that are more rounded at the small end to hatch. Rooster eggs will be more pointed at the small end. Some people say that is folklore and has no basis in fact, but the advice worked pretty well for me. I'll give it a shot again next Spring. I plan to cull the flock next month and these replacements should work out well.
Till next time, Be Safe and Well!
P.S. It sure feels good to sit down and blog again :)
No comments:
Post a Comment