Vacation was wonderful and there are many stories to tell. I hear from some of you that the blog is too long and from others that the blog is too short. I don't plan for it to be either way, I just write what comes to mind. It has been suggested that I start a food/recipe/cookbook blog separate from this one... please let me know which way the wind blows for you on this subject. For now, I'll keep it all here. When the votes are counted I'll let you know the outcome.
So here we go...
Tuesday was nice and warm with plenty of sunshine and a nice breeze blowing. We loaded up in the camaro and headed for Nashville. Not downtown Nashville but more in the business district. Wally showed me where my new doctor's offices are located and he showed me the best way to get there from my work. After that, we went to a place called Harbor Freight. This place has a little bit of everything. Some things are cheap and other things, well, not so much....tools, gardening equipment, windmills, scrapers and blades, hoses, work gloves, etc. You get the picture.
We bought some more solar lights to line the other side of the driveway, we bought a mat for Wally to use so he doesn't scratch the paint when he's working on cars/trucks, etc. We bought a deer hanger (that's what I call it) for hanging up the deer once they've been "harvested." This piece of equipment makes the job of dressing the deer much easier as it keeps it completely off the ground. (Kat, "dressing" it doesn't mean putting a suit on it...sorry!) We bought a few other things that we couldn't live without although at this point, I don't remember it all. It's kind of far to go to Harbor Freight but what a treat it was for me. I found things on every aisle but restrained from buying all of it...I like to know there's something left for my next visit....:) It didn't feel so much like shopping because it wasn't crowded, it was mostly cheap and it was mostly all stuff I might want at some point.
We loaded up our goodies and hit the interstate. We wanted to get back on our side of town before the afternoon Nashville traffic started up. In the camaro this is a cool way to go. Everyone beeps their horn at us or gives us the thumbs up. At the gas station, two people asked to take pictures of it. Fuel prices are getting ridiculous...we paid $3.35 one day and a few days later, at the same station, it was $3.49. What the heck????
We stopped at the Diner and got ourselves some cheeseburgers, fries/onion rings and a couple of cold beers. In all it was a nice way to spend the day :) It was a good thing too because Wednesday morning brought cold temperatures, clouds and plenty of rain to wash it all down with. I couldn't work in the garden or the yard so we gathered up a bunch of stuff and headed to the barn. Wally worked on the bronco while I watched the weather outside. I got so relaxed I thought I was going to drift off to sleep but the wind and rain and cold temperatures kept me from doing so... brrrrr Thank goodness Wally got hot and gave me his jacket! I had my jacket for my upper body and his for the lower half! Still it was cold.
I made beef tips with gravy over whole wheat macaroni noodles. The beef was from the meat man and after it browned I added some beef stock, mushrooms, onions and some seasonings. While the beef cooked, we petted the dogs, fed the horses and then got hot showers to warm us up. I made garlic bread to sop up that brown gravy. We had to go to Pee Wee's to pull our race numbers.
Pee Wee's was busy as Pee Wee's Place goes. I guess there were maybe 10-15 people there, us included. Wally got the number 6 and I got the number 3. Neither of them won but we still had fun playing. While we were there, Darryl gave me a bag (like a brown, paper lunch bag) of red onion sets for my garden. I hadn't planned on onions but he was nice enough to donate them so into the ground they went. I planted just one row but plan to plant more as a border around the plot. The hope is that the onions will smell so strong that the rabbits and deer will leave the beans alone that will planted in the middle of the plot. I know - hope against hope on that score but it's worth a try...
In that plot I now have the scallions that Mom sent me and the red onion sets that Darryl gave me. I should think it would be onion-ey enough to keep anything away but we'll see. I have the seeds for the bean plants but according to the almanac, they don't go into the ground until tomorrow or Wednesday.
I check my rows every day and so far...nothing has come up. No carrots, no peas, no beets, no scallions...not even any of the flower seeds have sprouted...
Nothing? Nothing.... what's the deal? The bag that the peas came in said 5-7 days to germination. It's been 12. I planted another row of peas on Saturday...maybe they will fare better? The carrot bag said 7 days to germination, it's been 11...what the heck? I'm not too worried about the beets because that bag said 10-21 days for germination - they still have some time to appear. Okay, so does germination mean that's when they should come out of the ground? I don't know... it's frustrating to do all that work and not see anything after two weeks! But still I continue to dig out the rocks and plant the seeds...time will tell. Wally says it will be any day now. I guess it's like the watched pot never boiling - perhaps a watched garden never sprouts... :(
Now I'm not one much for moving watching but Thursday turned out to be a movie day. We watched a movie called "Scent of a Woman." Wally had seen it before but not me. I'm so far behind on movies that there's no catching up at this point and that's okay with me. Rarely do I see one worth watching so why bother? This one turned out to be pretty darn good. I don't know who the guy was that played the main part but he was obnoxious, funny, and in the end, caring and helpful. I didn't even shed a tear...probably why I liked it so much! hahaha It was a good way to blow off doing any work for a couple hours and that's exactly what we did... :)
Well you can't spend your whole vacation running round not getting anything done but seed planting so I did clean house. I did the floors in the bathroom - whew - what a chore! I do believe that hairspray is dedicated to staying where it lands as it took some heavy scrubbing to get that stuff up. lol I gathered up the rugs, shook them out off the back porch (cough, cough, sneeze, sneeze) and then washed them all and started on the kitchen floors. Oh my...I thought they got bad fast in the wintertime. Springtime takes the cake! I swept up all manner of garden dirt - that I thought stayed in the garden, hello? I swept up dust bunnies from down the hall and bits of food that fell while I was cooking or scraping leftovers into the dog food pans. It gets dirty fast is all I can say!
With the floors and rugs shiny clean I got a little particular about us wiping our feet when we come through the door. Once they're dirty again, it won't matter but for a few days I was like a crazy woman watching for any little spot to appear. At one point, I had the back door open to let the breeze blow through and Ruger thought he was going to come inside. I don't think so mister! They've never even tried to come in and I was very surprised to see him up that close and trying. Maybe it was the smell of bacon frying that tempted him beyond his limits??? LOL I had to forgive him that...bacon tempts even the strongest of us at some point in our lives.
We have started letting them off their chains for an hour or so every day. They love it!! They run all over the place chasing each other, rolling around playing together and terrorizing the old dogs and roosters. It's fun to watch them and when they get a little too far from us, all we have to do is call their names and they come running quick as can be! Tails wagging, tongues lolling and ears laid back, they run at top speed and don't slow down until they just about pile into you! So cute. They wear themselves out and then dig holes in the dirt to lay and rest where it's cool and damp. This is usually right out by the grill where we're cooking of course.
They get the roosters in such a tizzy that they make a funny, garbled sound for 20 minutes or so. Sometimes they annoy the roosters so much so that they begin to "cock-a-doodle-do" when it's not even time for it. It doesn't take much to get the roosters going - they like their routine and they prefer you not interrupt it. They'll certainly let you know when you have...
We're still debating on whether to get some laying hens or some guinnea hens. The laying hens will provide eggs and the roosters will enjoy their company but then we have to build a place for them to lay and we risk losing them to bigger animals since the puppies can't be trusted off the line over night yet. Chickens, after all, are on the bottom of the farm food chain, like it or not.
The guinneas will wander around eating all the bugs off the ground, which is very beneficial but the roosters won't enjoy their company and they make a lot of noise - from what I hear anyway. No eggs can be eaten should they lay them.
I'll keep you posted on the final decision. Many thanks to Kris for sending the craigs list entry showing 5 chickens for sale for $25.00...we may just have to look into that :)
Then there's Colt, or Houdini as I like to call him. He got himself free Sunday morning so I tied him back up. Then this morning when I left for work, there he was again. Running around playing at 5:00 in the morning. hmmm he's figured out that choke chain and it no longer phases him to get free of it. At least he doesn't run off anymore :) Neither of them do. In fact, after being off their chains for a while, when we call them to go back on, they don't even mind it. They drink from their water bucket and then settle in for about a 2 hour nap. Lazy boys!
So what is blooming besides what I've planted you ask? Well, the red bud trees are in full bloom and I hope to get more pictures of them before they're done. The tree itself is kind of scraggly but when those red, purple or pink blooms appear, they transform into a real beauty. They seem to grow wild here as I'm sure Wally didn't plant them and there are so many! It would be nice to have a few planted along the driveway but close enough in the woods to not have to mow around them.
The dogwoods are showing yellow right now but within a day or so they will be full on bright, spactacular white! Wally said I could tie a ribbon around the ones I want to move. They are without a doubt a show stopper when in bloom and I can just imagine them paired with the red buds...Oh what a show that will be!!! Moving trees is no easy task and the bull dozer will have to be employed for the job. It's not a top priority but getting the ribbons tied on them definitely is top priority :)
Our schedule? Well, April is booking up quickly. Here's how it looks...
April 9th we're meeting up with Aunt Karen and Uncle Dee in Tunica for just an over-nighter...we'll have dinner with them, do some gambling and then come home on Sunday. It'll be good to see them and visit no matter where we end up.
April 14th - 17th Paul and Missy Goodman are coming to visit. It's Paul's birthday and we're planning an over-nighter in Nashville so he and Missy can go honky-tonking at the little bars all along Broadway. If you've never done it, it is kind of fun. For me though, it's more fun to stay on the farm with Wally and the animals and the garden. This is the weekend that tomatoes are to go in the ground so partying in Nashville will have to be kept to a minimum for me. I have to be able to get outside on Sunday and do some digging!
April 23rd is Easter weekend and while we don't have anyone coming to visit, we will take the time to get things caught up around the farm. Me especially - by then I hope to have a thriving garden that needs my tending...I'll be pretty disappointed otherwise! lol Of course, you're still welcome to come visit us. I'll be taking care of the garden either way :)
April 26th brings Dizzy Debbie to town for a few days. We plan to take her to Pee Wee's Place and maybe even get Darryl over to cook out and have a little party. We'll see. She's leaving on Friday so there's not much time for us to spend together. We have to make the moments count :)
The last weekend of the month is open but I imagine we'll be resting up from Debbie's visit...lol hope so anyway :) Feel free to plan a visit whenever you like but don't be surprised if I drag you out to the garden to lend a hand or just hang out while I pull weeds, check on the peas and look for stink bugs on the tomato plants :) :) lol Make you want to just jump in the car and head on over, doesn't it? lol!
From the almanac for April comes this:
"HAIL, APRIL. WITH HER SMILING FACE HAS COME TO CHEER THE PLAIN;
THE GRASS IS SEEN TO START APACE, AS DOES THE NEEDFUL GRAIN."
Yes, I'm back at work but as you know 4 days off makes for lots of catching up so another posting may be a little delayed in coming. I'll do what I can as soon as I can :) for too many of you are now dependent on my ramblings...LOL just kidding :) You keep reading it - I'll keep writing it!
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