A good weekend

Good evening friends!



I hope you and yours are finding yourselves healthy. My weekend has been pretty easy going. Mostly I worked in the garden and with the animals. I watched Internet TV with Mike, we went out to dinner and went to the hardware store to buy bulbs with a gift card Mike had won in a drawing. I also had a coupon for a free bag of bulbs from on-line that I used. I bought 20 tulip bulbs, mixed purple kinds, and purple and pink anemones, some organic cow-free bulb fertilizer and a bulb planter all without paying a dime! I planted them around my apple tree along with the purple flowering perennials I had received from the plant swap last week, and I moved one of my irises there as well.



Mike mowed down my buckwheat with protests that it was too pretty to mow. I told him I didn't want them to reseed though or they might become weeds so he went ahead and did it for me. After, I turned over the soil and the buckwheat stalks into wide rows where I will be planting next year. I have one side of the garden all done now. The other still has tomato plants so I haven't turned the soil yet though they are on their last leg and they will be leaving soon enough.


Saturday a few good reads arrived in the mail. A couple books on prairie plants, grasses, sedges and rushes as I've been interested in the ecology of the area for a while but haven't taken the time yet to learn much. I also bought a reading book just for enjoyment about an heirloom tomato farmer, and another (which hasn't yet arrived) about propagation techniques.

Over all it was not a difficult weekend even though I was called in to surgery late Saturday night and didn't get home until 4 Sunday. I slept in until 10, much longer then I had hoped to on Sunday so I got less done then I had planned but still not a bad day.

Today, Monday, it has been wanting to rain all day. Real gloomy looking but the clouds give a nice look to the yellow leaved trees.

Well, nothing more to report here. Have a good night,

Nickie.

What I Learned #2

Good morning everyone!

Its beautiful out. I spent a little time in the garden weeding a flower bed and pulling out old cleome plants that were past their prime. I also spent time playing with the kittens, the rabbits and the chickens. They do keep me busy. The kittens think they are helping me when I'm weeding but they are really quite distracting. You just can't tell them otherwise though.

At the harvest fair I learned how to make apple cider. As it turns out, you can't squeeze much juice from a whole apple, so the apples have to be ground up first before pressing. You put the ground up pieces in cheese cloth and put them under the press, which squeezes out the juice. Juice doesn't last forever though, and when it goes bad its not really 'bad'. A slimy goop forms on the top called "the mother". When the goop sinks to the bottom, you have apple cider vinegar. The longer you keep it (the more times the mother forms and sinks), the better it tastes. I had been curious about how to make cider for a long time, especially with the wild apples that grow in the woods I think it would be neat to be able to make my own at some point in time but since I have nowhere to store even a small apple press here I'll likely never get around to doing it until I have a bigger home.

Well enjoy your day everyone!

Nickie

What I learned this this weekend #1

Good day friends!

I hope you are all enjoying this first day of fall which started at 10:44 am today. This weekend has been all about fall stuff. First I went apple picking at the local u-pick orchard which was disappointing. Oh the apples are good, but since they changed ownership the atmosphere of the place has also changed. They are making it so commercialized now it's ridiculous. Soon it will be another Disney land. I may have to go farther to get my apples because I don't think I'll go there ever again. Not only did they jack up the price of their apples to more per lb. then they are at the stores, they now make you PAY just to pick the apples........ Nope, not going back.

But Sunday, I had a grand time! I went to the harvest fest at the Indiana Dunes National Lake shore. I did a short hike and then took a tour of the old farm house, the organic garden and checked out all the booths that were demonstrating old ways of homesteading chores.

I spent some time talking with a bee keeper who had a hive there (empty of bees for safety sake) and watched as he took a steam knife that was heated by hot water over a fire to the hive frames to cut off the waxy part so he could put the frames in a centrifuge. Next, we spun the frames until the honey came out, and drained through a spout at the bottom. I got to taste the fresh honey right there. This honey was goldenrod honey and very yummy. I learned that each hive could make a HUGE amount of honey, but that since everywhere was getting built up, open places were being mowed and people don't plant flowers as much that what the hives used to make in honey has diminished a great deal. I've also learned that hive die offs haven't effected this area much at all and that some bee farmers are refusing to take their hives to farms that use a lot of chemicals anymore because they are afraid of the risk to their bees. An interesting thing I learned is that buckwheat (the cover crop I am using) makes a very strong black honey that a lot of people don't like.

I learned a lot from each of the booths, and I figure I can reflect on each thing in different posts.
I'm glad I went and had a lot of fun.

Today I took my spare roses and peppermints to Deep River park, where they were having a plant swap meet. I only managed to give away a couple of peppermints but the roses all went. I received some bulbs, toad lily clumps, ferns, spearmint, edible sage, ornamental basil, a couple tulip tree seedlings ( I figure I could try to have fun with them and grow them as minis), obedient plant, and some sunflower seeds.

Well, it's time for me to go.

Nice chatting with ya,

Nickie.

Howdy dear friends,

It is a beautiful morning here in northwest Indiana. It's the perfect morning to do a bunch of mulching. I hopped out of bed early today and made a bee-line for the free mulch pile and filled up my car twice, which was enough to mulch one bed nicely. The daylily bed along the road needed new mulch bad as what I had put there when I planted it was almost all gone now.

Yesterday i spent time in the garden doing other chores. The Latham raspberry twigs I planted in the spring are getting tall and floppy so I went to the hardware store and bought some metal stakes and wire to make the trellis I had been putting off for too long. After i trellised them, it looked a lot neater. The layer of half broken down compost I'd mulched with in early summer has kept the weeds at bay nicely. Then I used the old bricks from a neighbor to line the bed and finish it all off. It looks almost professional now. I'm pleased with myself.

I cut down the yellow scabiosa plants. these plants were considered 'weeds' by the evil association here, but I ignored thier dyer warning in the form of a ticket requesting that I "weed". Surprisingly, there were no consequences and the butterflies and insects got to keep loving the scabiosa flowers. Now though, I decided to go ahead and cut them down as they were starting to look very ragged and unkempt. Though as I was doing the deed all kinds of butterflies kept visiting the flowers as I worked, making me feel guilt ridden, even worse as they visited the growing pile on the ground of cut plants. If you want LOTS of butterflies, plant yellow scabiosa. Bees, hover flies and butterflies can't seem to resist them.

While I was out in the garden, I decided to share with you some of the very pretty leaves I have right now. (See the picture). Top: Blueberry, Hydrangeas. Middle: Coleus, Heuchera. Bottom: Ornamental sweet potato vine, native tulip tree.

In the veggie patch, I harvested a moon and stars watermelon. I read that you should harvest when the tendrils nearest the melon have dried. I'm hoping this is right. I'm too scared to cut into it yet to find out.

Well, have a wonderful Sunday!

Nickie

A Day Off Tomorrow---

Good evening friends!

Another day has passed yet again. How quickly time flies. Tomorrow I actually have a day off. I won't even be on call. I'm weighing my options here.

So far my options consist of:

• Slacking off and vegetating mostly with a few light chores like cleaning animal cages, dishes and laundry, around the house.

or

• All chores--outside and in, weeding, turning the compost, getting mulch and mulching flower beds, picking veggies, ripping out old plants, deadheading, grocery shopping, baking bread and cooking up pumpkins to freeze and bake with.

or

• Staying in bed all day in my jammies and doing nothing (which sounds really good right now since I've been run into the ground everyday this week)....this option, no matter how wonderful it sounds, probably won't happen but a girl can dream, right?

Well, good night everyone!

Nickie

Jacket Weather

Good Evening Friends!

It was very chilly this morning. So chilly that the garden impatiens were sulking, with droopy leaves. They are dragging their feet to the inevitable end of their life though I am sure they perked up later during the day when the chill lessened. I even had to wear a jacket.

Yesterday's rainfall amounted to just under 2" according to my rain gauge this morning. The Buckwheat is loving all that rain. Its growing nice and thick...maybe too thick? I wasn't sure how thick to plant the seeds, as the dog ate the directions. I'm sure it won't be a problem though as buckwheat can't take frost at all. It's days are numbered.

I saw in the paper today that a local plant club is hosting a perennial exchange next Monday. Great! I can take the extra roses, peppermint, irises and lilies and exchange for new plants. This way I won't have to hold them over the winter. Just what I needed! Things work out well sometimes.

Have a good night all-

Nickie

Turning of the Seasons

Good evening friends,

I know I haven't typed anything for a while but believe me, I've been thinking of all kinds of things I could be adding here. Working for surgery sometimes I may disappear into the dark abyss for a while. Surgery pretty much OWNS me. Such is the price of learning....They beep, I hop. It seems most of my waking hours are spent at the hospital these days, especially now that I'm picking up on call time. The couple days I've had off these past couple of very busy weeks, I've spent vegetating and resting up because by the end of my long shifts---on my feet the whole time, I am exhausted. My legs and feet are tired, and then I wake a million times at night wondering if the pager is going off. When it does, I have to leap out of bed, throw on scrubs, and get there fast. I had Saturday off, and it felt strange to wear street clothes. I felt almost naked without my scrubs. I have to constantly remind myself that I like my job when the halls of the hospital seem endless.

It's when I'm tired I begin to wonder how I even ended up working in this environment. It's strange really. I'm a Forestry Science major, with an art degree also. If I had known how much I would like working for surgery, I would of skipped all the rest and headed strait for Surgery. Truly strange how the seasons of one's life changes.

Speaking of changing seasons, Fall is blasting in. It's shoving summer aside very rudely. I'm not sure I'm ready for it at all. I thought perhaps it would ease into fall, but not this year. Seemingly over night the trees have started changing. Golden Rod and Snake Root are changing the nature of open fields. Weeds are yellowing in those same open spaces. Trees look tired. And rain. we've had lots of rain. First we had a day long rain that gave us 3.5 inches (according to my rain gauge in the garden) the other day, I think that was Friday. Today its gotten down right chilled, and lots more rain. It's been in the 50's since about 2 pm or so. When I get off work tonight, I'm likely going to freeze since I didn't bring a jacket.

The Buckwheat I planted is loving the rain. It's very green and healthy looking but with the dropping temperature, I'm wondering if I planted it too late. Its only a few inches tall. I also worry about other things in the garden--the watermelons still haven't ripened. They are just sitting there. Not growing, not ripening, not doing anything but existing. I'm sure the bulbs I planted on my day off in Sasha's memorial garden are also enjoying the rain. I planted yellow tulips, yellow and orange cupped daffodils, and mixed crocus (I wanted yellow ones as my theme will be Yellow next year in the garden but all the store had were mixed colors.) Planting bulbs is about the only gardening I've done since I last posted.

My busy schedule is showing with my poor neglected animals. The poor bunnies need a good grooming. Especially the dutch bunny, who is shedding like mad and looks dreadful. I combed gobs of loose fur from her this morning. It's Brandi though, who is showing the most signs of missing me. When Brandi gets lonely, she gets destructive. She likes to tear things up and drag things around the house. When she's missing me, she gets into the dirty hamper and drags out clothes with my scent on them. Usually that's dirty socks. The other day, she'd dragged out some scrubs from the hamper to lay on them in the living room. I found another dirty scrub top on the bed. Silly dog. Her latest 'trick' is to open the refrigerator. This is trouble. When she's learned something once and been rewarded (in this case she learned there are lots of yummies in the fridge) then she remembers it and keeps doing it. The other night I came home to disaster....food pieces and containers all over the floor--refrigerator door wide open. Uh oh. This one, is way too smart for her own good. This one, learned how to let herself out of the crate a while back. Now how many dogs do you know can figure that out? Perhaps I can teach her now to fetch a beer for me since she knows how to open the fridge?...There has to be a silver lining in this somewhere!

Anyway, that's it for now...I've lingered far too long on the computer. I have to get hopping.

Have a good night all!

Nickie

Buckwheat

Good Morning Friends!



Its a beautiful morning outside today. In fact, its the perfect kind of morning for lounging around outside watching chickens, kittens, rabbits and birds with your caffinated beverage of choice. It's sunny and 70 with a breeze. But I told myself I would finish the left half of the vegetable garden today and get the buckwheat planted. I could tell when I was digging this morning and turning the soil over, where I had amended last year as apposed to the new area this year. HUGE difference. Still clay but dark brown, moister, filled with organic matter to make it lighter in texture and easier to turn. I'm still stunned at how well the corn did in the not amended side with little rain or water and no fertilizer either this year. I will have to remember the variety-- kandy Korn i think. It isn't too picky! I don't know, it could be the soil too, after all, my broccoli gets huge without fertilizers in the unamended clay too and I KNOW those are heavy feeders.
Anyway, I got that part finished and got out my big bag of buckwheat seed (there are a few peas and mung and alfalfa seeds mixed in there thinks to our old dog getting into the seeds and spilling them onto the floor) The directions on the bag said to broadcast the seeds and lightly rake in, but not how much per foot to broadcast so I took handfuls and threw them all around. I probably planted way too many but its short term anyway as if we get an early frost they will be goners and I intend to cut them down before they go to seed as green mulch before frost anyway.

A few things to note, The strawberries grew bonkers this year but the fruits are sour---I think they did not get enough sunlight so I will move them next spring. I think I'd prefer them in a strait row anyway so I can control the runners more carefully. I need to move a few flowering plants to the shadier garden on the north side of the house-- the bleeding heart that is in with the strawberries now, *don't ask*, and the hardy geraniums that are in the south flower bed. they do OK where they are but the get sun burnt and ugly in the heat.

Yesterday I collected a whole bunch of daylily seeds from the stella d' oro's I planted along the street last year. I think I'll offer up those for barter or pay this winter with some other things. Daylilies are surprisingly easy to grow from seed. My not yet year old plants I started in the winter last year are doing great. They are knee high and loving their new garden spot.

Today's Harvest was:

• 1 really big red tomato (I think it was called Supersteak)
• 39 cherry tomatoes

Enjoy your day!

Nickie

Looking for ways...

Hello again friends (for the second time today!)

I am squeaky clean free of the garden dust that had covered me from toe to head now and it feels just too good. As I was showering I was trying to think of other ways I could maybe make some $$ or even barter for new things I don't have or need for things that I do.

It occurred to me that maybe some folks would like to buy or barter for my seeds and plants through the mail? I would much rather do things in person one on one (without all the postage!) but I guess I shouldn't rule it out either.

So I was wondering if anyone would be willing if I collected them to trade or buy if I offered some seeds? I don't have much right now but I could go gather some. Right now in the garden i have Yellow Scabiosa (see scanned image at top), various sunflowers--light yellow multi branching (my favorites!)and yellow with red multi branching. I also have grandpa otts morning glories going to seed and I can collect "white wonder" tomato seeds also (I was going to do that anyway for my own self but will ferment more if there is interest.) I am sure I can collect more kinds then just those.

So let me know if you like this idea and I will run out to collect seeds.

Well, That reall is all for today!

Take care,

Nickie

Invasion of the Blackbirds

Good Morning Friends,

I hope the new day is bringing you joy. When I woke up this morning and the first thing I noticed out the window was that the female blackbirds were everywhere outside. They coated my lawn, my trees, my corn plants, the power line and anything else they could perch on. I think my home must be marked on bird maps as a resting place because I get all kinds of flocks stop by from geese, to finches, and I've even had herons and ducks show up.

The blackbirds are getting ready to fly south. The females always go together, flocking for the journey. Then the males. It's the males who come back first in the spring. Seeing them puts me in the joyous mood of fall, where nature and harvests are celebrated but it also reminds me that summer is coming to a close and soon after that, barren garden and icy weather for months.

I went outside to enjoy the cool morning while it lasted, to finish 'weeding' my garden and then I weeded the real weeds in my elderly neighbors yard. I use those weeds to give my rabbits and chickens something fun to do. I layer the weeds thick in the bottom of their cages. Much better then sending it to the landfill as I am not about to stick crab grass into my compost. I have enough problems with it thank you very much. The critters will eat it, seeds and all and turn it into some great manure for the compost.

The pumpkin vines are looking terrible now all except for the new growth. Seemingly over night the invasion of the powder arrived. Powdery mildew is pretty much a given in this climate but this has been a pretty dry year and so i haven't had a problem with it on anything else. The pumpkins are just about done anyway, as is the corn. I will be cutting back vines this weekend to encourage the pumpkins to start ripening. If I get the corn out soon enough I can plant a quick cover crop of buckwheat. That spot really needs something. Its clay. I'm surprised my corn and pumpkins did so well there without any amending. I love fresh from the garden corn, but I'm debating on whether or not to grow any next year. In the same space I could probably grow a lot more food and I have neighboring farms who grow plenty of corn. I'm also debating on changing my big flower bed that is along the side of my patio over to veggies, exclusively and moving flowers over to the front as the people here give me a hard time about growing vegetables in the front. *sigh* I might do it anyway but not because of them, It would give me more space for things like greens and herbs. and I would have to buy less seeds for flowers.

I went to see if I had any blueberries left, so that I could throw some on my oatmeal. I didn't find any but I noticed that I have cranberries. 6 of them. At least I have an even number! I only planted one sprawling little plant and didn't expect anything to come of it this year but it did bloom and now I have berries. I'm hoping it spreads and fills in around my blueberry bushes which also didn't grow much this year thanks to deer and rabbits eating them down during the winter. I'll have to protect them this year.

I told myself that in order to focus on the future, I had to stop living like I'm going to be here forever, which means buying no more fruit trees! But then yesterday, the very day after I told myself that, the Stark Brother's catalogue arrived in the mail box with pictures of luscious peaches, apples, plums and cherries, with a promise of 20% off on the trees if I were to order before October no less. Its cruel. Just plain cruel.

I also got an invitation to the Midwest Hound Dog Hoot-N-Nanny and fall faire parade in the mail.. Its a get together and donation drive for those who adopted and who volunteer with Robdar's Houndsong Hound Dog Rescue, whom we'd adopted our dog, Brandi from. We would of loved to go, and I know Brandi would of also. She would be able to play with other dogs like her. Because she is big and strong and barks a lot, a lot of dogs are intimidated by her around here, all except for one Australian Shepherd dog, who adores her down the street, she really doesn't get to socialize much with other dogs. But she has a hoot with other hounds! Unfortunately, the day of the gathering, I have to work--and since I don't have to work most weekends, it would be unfair to my co-workers to ask for it off instead of taking my turn. Maybe next year we can participate. :)

Well I think that is more then enough typing for now. I have other chores to do.

Have a great day!

Nickie

The State Of The Garden Address

Dear Friends,

I've had a great little harvest from my vegetable garden today! The Great White tomatoes are producing the best this year and I'm finally starting to get a few cucumbers from my late planting. Unfortunately, it looks as if one of my cherry type tomatoes has some kind of blight, as all the leaves are turning yellow and sickly. I may have to pull that one up early and send it to the landfill instead of the compost pile. I've never had blight before in all they years I've grown tomatoes. One thing I loved seeing on my tomato plants this morning was a shriveled blackened tomato horn worm with the remains of predatory wasp eggs on it's back. Nature can be gruesome, but I love it. That being said, I'm going to enjoy today's harvest!

Today's Harvest:

• 3 dozen cherry tomatoes
• 3 drying tomatoes
• 6 Great White tomatoes
• 7 Gypsy peppers
• 13 ears of corn
• 3 pickling cucumbers

But not all is peaches and cream in the garden this year. It seems that some folks have nothing better to do with their time then to harass the non-conformers. Who would of thought that a trailer park housing committee would be so uptight? Apparently they don't know the difference between California Poppies, Larkspur, and Yellow Scabiosa from weeds.

I know who it is who keeps complaining too-- If it isn't one thing it's another. He rides a lawn mower up every street in here, even if he isn't mowing. he's a cranky looking guy that never smiles. he looks rather unhappy with his job or life in general. He works for the trailer park and he HATES anything that isn't lawn. But I didn't want to sit in a sea of useless lawn and when we moved in here, we chose our lot more on the size for gardening then anything. The office told us strait up that they welcome gardening and in fact have a garden contest every year. It turns out, their idea of gardening is to have 1) a few scraggly annuals from walmart in hanging baskets or a couple of pots, or 2) sprigs of fake flowers stuck in pots. I am seriously not kidding about this. The don't appreciate carefully tended garden beds, mulched and weed free filled with unusual flowers and plants I have either collected from cuttings or mail order, and from seeds I've planted.

Last spring, before the ground even had a chance to thaw we got a notice that they didn't like our empty garden beds and to correct the problem by so and so date. I ignored that one. It was BS. How could I 'correct' the problem before it was warm enough to plant anything? And then they complained about our patio being messy. I had left my shovel out that morning leaning against my step railing.....and about the skirting on our trailer even though its fine and completely intact unlike several folks in the neighborhood. One gets the feeling they are being targeted after a while.... And the one thing I would of thought they would complain on they haven't; the chickens and rabbits which I keep meticulously clean so that none complains about barnyard smells.

So I was told to rip out my 'weeds' by the 20th. I got the notice Saturday. This morning I got up bright and early to pull my lovely flowers that have given me so much joy, fed butterflies, bees and the yellow birds. Right now I just can't afford the fine. If i didn't take care of the problem, Mr. lawn mower would be over here mowing it all down then fining us with a hefty price to cover his hard work. I can't afford to protest that one right now.

Such is life here...see why I would love to get out of here?

Someday I can have free rein over my own garden, I can have as much corn, sprawling pumpkins, and yes, even yellow scabiosa and larkspur as i want to my heart's content. i just have to grit my teeth a while and try to have patience.

Have a good day,

Nickie