Yesterday was day two at being back at home. Weird! I felt like a stranger. My outdoors world felt much more intimate... more my own. So I did my errands in the morning. Recycled soda bottles. Took excess grocery bags to the thrift shop so they could be used again. I should have gone there first as I ended up spending my can money on odds and ends at the thrift shop. Oh well, I'll forgive myself later in the day. Then ran by the feed store and got some of my critter essentials and picked up the timothy grass seed that I had bought during the heat of the summer.
The afternoon was spent outdoors. A little debris that had gotten blown around in the last storm was picked up. Took a pan, purchased for $.25 at the thrift shop, out to the chicken coop , filled with grit. Gave the horses a snack as they were begging terribly. If they were women, they would be alfalfa pellet whores. Where's your dignity, you, ponies, you! But, I digress....
The highlight of my day was taking the fifty pound bag of timothy seed out to the hayfield in the back of the truck. Opening the bag. Marveling at what very tiny seed it was, then scooping it up in a plastic bowl, and walking through the hayfield looking for bare spots on the ground. Where the grass was bare or thin, I broadcast the seed by hand. It took a bit over two hours. But it is the best tool to know your land is to get out there and have your feet on the ground. I can't stress that enough. You miss a lot driving over it in the truck or on a tractor. Walk it!
Things are looking better. Last spring we hand sown a bag of orchard grass and also hand scattered five or six fifty pound bags of pelletized lime. It's a bit shocking to see what a difference so little can make. A year ago, I had big swaths of bare ground with patches of moss. A sure sign of acid soil. This year I only spotted four or five chunks of moss, none of them bigger then the palm of my hand. My hay guy told me that my efforts were in the right direction, but there was no way I had done enough to create a change. He said it was probably the drought the year before that had caused nutrients to rise in the soil. Maybe. But I have to believe that small actions are capable of reaping great rewards. Otherwise, we would all be helpless, and I can't be helpless.
And what's on for today? Well, I should start by cleaning toilets. Working towards a brighter, better world!
Louie
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Reunited
There is an old pop song....."Reunited and it feels so good....." Well, I'm home and to be honest I don't know how to feel. I'm missing Max terribly. I'm not missing the drive at all. I feel at a loss. There is so much to do here and I'm so far behind that I don't really know which way to jump first. I guess my tune would be, "Reunited and I'm dazed and confused...."
I was putting in 12 hour days between watching Max and having to drive such a long commute, and it certainly shows on my house. It shows between doggy hairballs and giant dust bunnies. My menagerie of filth. I had to begin with house cleaning. Not knowing where else to start, I fell back on the tried and true standards. I began with washing the sheets and running the vacuum. Moved on to getting a cardboard box by the door and everything that could possibly be burned was thrown into it. Next stop was to try to clear every flat surface. I have come to the conclusion that all surfaces in a house should have peaked tops so the household junk does not get stacked on it. It'll make dining a little difficult, but what the hell?!
I couldn't keep from moving some furniture and then finished off the evening with filing bank statements. While getting a couple of things accomplished was nice, it has been tempered with some problems. It seems that a drainage line heaved and we had a pocket of moisture accumulation in the front corner of the house. The rising damp rotted out a section of the living room floor. Not hard to do in an earth sheltered house. So somehow, someway, before the ground freezes, I need to get out there and dig up a tile line. I need to finish clearing out some cabinetry and then I begin the deed of ripping up my floor. That will have to keep until this weekend as I have no doubt that I will be needing some moral support.
That takes me back to the good news. Mac, my husband type person, has finally started to feel better. I have to admit that we were both wondering if that day would come. Especially after last winter, when we both managed to spend most of it with flu or respiratory infection. Throw on top of that, Mac's three heart attacks. Right now though, he is walking up and down our hill. Cavorting with grandkids and has even been spotted weeding the garden. At this time, he is competent in the moral support department. I am very much needing someone standing there and saying, "Atta Girl! You can do it!"
For today... I have a to-do list, like always. Nothing too rigorous as I still don't know what the hell I'm really doing. A trip into town for gas and feed and I guess we'll just have to see where we end up. Reunited? yes, I think so, but I totally don't know how I feel.
Later, Kids,
Louie
I was putting in 12 hour days between watching Max and having to drive such a long commute, and it certainly shows on my house. It shows between doggy hairballs and giant dust bunnies. My menagerie of filth. I had to begin with house cleaning. Not knowing where else to start, I fell back on the tried and true standards. I began with washing the sheets and running the vacuum. Moved on to getting a cardboard box by the door and everything that could possibly be burned was thrown into it. Next stop was to try to clear every flat surface. I have come to the conclusion that all surfaces in a house should have peaked tops so the household junk does not get stacked on it. It'll make dining a little difficult, but what the hell?!
I couldn't keep from moving some furniture and then finished off the evening with filing bank statements. While getting a couple of things accomplished was nice, it has been tempered with some problems. It seems that a drainage line heaved and we had a pocket of moisture accumulation in the front corner of the house. The rising damp rotted out a section of the living room floor. Not hard to do in an earth sheltered house. So somehow, someway, before the ground freezes, I need to get out there and dig up a tile line. I need to finish clearing out some cabinetry and then I begin the deed of ripping up my floor. That will have to keep until this weekend as I have no doubt that I will be needing some moral support.
That takes me back to the good news. Mac, my husband type person, has finally started to feel better. I have to admit that we were both wondering if that day would come. Especially after last winter, when we both managed to spend most of it with flu or respiratory infection. Throw on top of that, Mac's three heart attacks. Right now though, he is walking up and down our hill. Cavorting with grandkids and has even been spotted weeding the garden. At this time, he is competent in the moral support department. I am very much needing someone standing there and saying, "Atta Girl! You can do it!"
For today... I have a to-do list, like always. Nothing too rigorous as I still don't know what the hell I'm really doing. A trip into town for gas and feed and I guess we'll just have to see where we end up. Reunited? yes, I think so, but I totally don't know how I feel.
Later, Kids,
Louie
Monday, February 25, 2013
Nothing Has Been Happening Here
It is winter. It's been confusing though because it has been a warm winter. Everyone seems to be sicker during those warm winters. That has been the case for us. The stomach flu started our winter off and a respiratory virus sort of thing is finishing it. All of it leads to nothingness. Feel well enough to be up and not in bed. Don't feel well enough to actually do anything. The winter hasn't been so bad. Some storms but not as bad as they could have been. The snow soon melted away. No snow men. No snow balls. No snow forts. But still too cold to go out and let the sun's rays warm your bones. Too cold to dig a hole in the still frozen ground.
On groundhog's day, Punxatawny Phil indicated that there would be just two weeks remaining of winter. That was three weeks ago and I am looking out at the current snow covering. Most melted away yesterday but it's there.... mocking me. There is suppose to be another snow storm tomorrow night. The weatherman assured that it would melt away quickly also.
Don't get me wrong... I'm glad we aren't having any emergencies, for a change. But the nothingness is nibbling away at me. We survive, but we don't thrive. We aren't having fun. Almost like the blood is moving very, very slowly in our veins. I have taken to watching movies with green in them. The Jane Austin stories are good. She seemed to like characters that went for walks. So I play "Pride and Prejudice" or "Sense and Sensibility" and I look at pastures. I watch for hedgerows. I am inspired and nurtured by all of that green. Then I sit near my sweet potato vines. They wait for spring too, on the window sill, in a jar with an inch and a half of water.
Together, my sweet potato vines and I, just vegetate, cause absolutely nothing is happening here.
Louie
On groundhog's day, Punxatawny Phil indicated that there would be just two weeks remaining of winter. That was three weeks ago and I am looking out at the current snow covering. Most melted away yesterday but it's there.... mocking me. There is suppose to be another snow storm tomorrow night. The weatherman assured that it would melt away quickly also.
Don't get me wrong... I'm glad we aren't having any emergencies, for a change. But the nothingness is nibbling away at me. We survive, but we don't thrive. We aren't having fun. Almost like the blood is moving very, very slowly in our veins. I have taken to watching movies with green in them. The Jane Austin stories are good. She seemed to like characters that went for walks. So I play "Pride and Prejudice" or "Sense and Sensibility" and I look at pastures. I watch for hedgerows. I am inspired and nurtured by all of that green. Then I sit near my sweet potato vines. They wait for spring too, on the window sill, in a jar with an inch and a half of water.
Together, my sweet potato vines and I, just vegetate, cause absolutely nothing is happening here.
Louie
Friday, January 25, 2013
Heart Attack King
As of yesterday, Mac has had his fourth heart attack. The fourth one in a year. He is becoming the heart attack King. A designation we both would like to relegate.
I am now sitting in the waiting room of the heart catheter lab. The Doctors are assuming he will need another stint. I am once again sitting and waiting. The waiting room is slow today. There have been times when it was packed. Every possible extended family member crowding in. Stacking children, snacks, books and magazines. Not today. There are three of us now. Two men waiting for a woman whose procedure is done. She had everything go fine. Uneventful. And they wait until they will be allowed to go back and watch her magically awaken.
Waiting rooms are strange places. People walk through. We become some sort of mutual zoo. We stare at each other with blank faces. Some thinking. Some trying desperately to not think. No matter the temperature of the room there seems to be cold air that blows out of the vents. Spring, summer, fall or winter, the ducts spew cold air. I have to wonder how the room can be warm. I'm cold.
We sit. We listen to one another's conversations. Unapologetically we nose into one another's lives. We wait. One of the talking men blows his nose. Instead of throwing his tissue into the small trash can near him. He gets up and walks half way across the room to throw it in the trash behind me. A cursory glance across my computer screen. For this little window in time, our waiting lives intwine.
They talk about eating barbeque. Skinny women. The days of military service and how they could not wait to get out. Health care.
The waiting room volunteer comes over to me and tells me that they have had a delay and Mac has just now been taken in for his angiogram. More waiting. More people walk about. More stares. I stare back. I notice who has suitcases and who doesn't. Who looks lost. Who seems to have a purpose. Who stares at who and who has to look away. Some faces are too hard to look at. There is an inherent fatigue that comes with waiting. Can't be helped. I continue participating in this little zoo. Tired, Hungry... dreaming of a waffle. Waiting.
Louie
I am now sitting in the waiting room of the heart catheter lab. The Doctors are assuming he will need another stint. I am once again sitting and waiting. The waiting room is slow today. There have been times when it was packed. Every possible extended family member crowding in. Stacking children, snacks, books and magazines. Not today. There are three of us now. Two men waiting for a woman whose procedure is done. She had everything go fine. Uneventful. And they wait until they will be allowed to go back and watch her magically awaken.
Waiting rooms are strange places. People walk through. We become some sort of mutual zoo. We stare at each other with blank faces. Some thinking. Some trying desperately to not think. No matter the temperature of the room there seems to be cold air that blows out of the vents. Spring, summer, fall or winter, the ducts spew cold air. I have to wonder how the room can be warm. I'm cold.
We sit. We listen to one another's conversations. Unapologetically we nose into one another's lives. We wait. One of the talking men blows his nose. Instead of throwing his tissue into the small trash can near him. He gets up and walks half way across the room to throw it in the trash behind me. A cursory glance across my computer screen. For this little window in time, our waiting lives intwine.
They talk about eating barbeque. Skinny women. The days of military service and how they could not wait to get out. Health care.
The waiting room volunteer comes over to me and tells me that they have had a delay and Mac has just now been taken in for his angiogram. More waiting. More people walk about. More stares. I stare back. I notice who has suitcases and who doesn't. Who looks lost. Who seems to have a purpose. Who stares at who and who has to look away. Some faces are too hard to look at. There is an inherent fatigue that comes with waiting. Can't be helped. I continue participating in this little zoo. Tired, Hungry... dreaming of a waffle. Waiting.
Louie
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Biding My Time
We are having a cold snap in the weather. Up to now it has been a mild winter but the cold weather reminds me that it's time to sit back and wait. I hate waiting. I'm not good at it. I need to have a project. It has been pointed out to me that I could work on house projects, but considering I still need to be cutting and sanding and staining, I'm not keen on it. I usually have a cleaning fit in the spring. I am more then willing to wait for that to strike.
So, I wait.
I have ordered seeds. The half pound of buffalo grass seed has arrived. The vegetable order that I placed hasn't materialized. When over come by some impulse, I did buy a few seeds when in town. I have decided that this year I need to try root vegetables. I have had no luck with beets. I think the problem is due to the rabbits. Any other problem and a few of the seeds would have made it up. But after three full seed packages and not a single beet, well, I shall blame the natives. Hopefully this will be the summer of beets, parsnips and rutabagas.
The hens have been good to me this winter. They have never just stopped laying. I have even gotten numerous days when every girl has given me an egg. I have one hen that gets very frustrated with me. She wants to keep her eggs so badly. I will let her set a nest in late spring when it is warm.
So, she and I wait.
I have a friend who reminds me..... the earth is patient. I am not.
Louie
So, I wait.
I have ordered seeds. The half pound of buffalo grass seed has arrived. The vegetable order that I placed hasn't materialized. When over come by some impulse, I did buy a few seeds when in town. I have decided that this year I need to try root vegetables. I have had no luck with beets. I think the problem is due to the rabbits. Any other problem and a few of the seeds would have made it up. But after three full seed packages and not a single beet, well, I shall blame the natives. Hopefully this will be the summer of beets, parsnips and rutabagas.
The hens have been good to me this winter. They have never just stopped laying. I have even gotten numerous days when every girl has given me an egg. I have one hen that gets very frustrated with me. She wants to keep her eggs so badly. I will let her set a nest in late spring when it is warm.
So, she and I wait.
I have a friend who reminds me..... the earth is patient. I am not.
Louie
Monday, January 14, 2013
Accessing
We have had a strangely short, warm winter, but today it is the normal cold of January. Depending on where you are at in Iowa the temperatures vary from 6 to 11 degrees F. With wind chill, it is more like -1 to 6 degrees. It's the kind of day that causes me to curl up and become useless. It's a day that I just sit and think.
I have pulled out all of my farm lists. Things I want. Tasks to accomplish. Money to raise. Actually, it's a bit depressing. The only thing I accomplished last year was getting the chickens. But then again, I have made gains on quite a few projects. I have been accumulating supplies for building my tiny little hay barn. I have picked up a couple of things that will go into my horse playground. I only need to finish up the roof of the greenhouse and then it will be ready for plastic. The spruce windbreak on the west side of the property got a few more trees last year. Just another dozen or so and I should be done on that side. I have been collecting seeds and nuts and as soon as the greenhouse is finished they will be started. I am hoping to be able to start more of my own plants, then my money will go towards plants that I can't acquire locally.
A fifty pound bag of orchard grass is ordered and paid for. A half pound bag of buffalo grass is ordered and paid for. I need to buy more blue grass but it's not on the shelves yet. That's an improvement. Last year grass seed was just a twinkle in my eye.
Fence continues to be my greatest challenge. Everyone expects there to be a norm. This is how you do fence. This is what it is going to cost. And it's just assumed that you have that kind of money. After all, if you moved to the country and built a house, you HAVE to have money. But I have spent a great deal of time on permies and I think I have some ideas to avoid spending a great deal of money. Then yesterday, I got lost on another site that was nothing but fencing. It was handy. I found some answers. And, I have more ideas. It's such a relief to have ideas and a plan.
Today, I will spend in the house. I will combine all of my many to-do lists. The "I Want" lists. The goals and the business plan will be updated. Then I will clean the bathroom. Mop the floors. Get the laundry done. Tidy the kitchen. Then tomorrow I will go out with the truck and start picking up tree debris from the woods. The debris will get taken to where I plan on building up fence and to every place where I think I might want to try doing some hugelkultur. Who knows, maybe I will even get the flat free tire for my wheelbarrow put on and I just might even get some manure tucked in amongst the rotting logs to get the hugels started. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of a productive year.
Louie
I have pulled out all of my farm lists. Things I want. Tasks to accomplish. Money to raise. Actually, it's a bit depressing. The only thing I accomplished last year was getting the chickens. But then again, I have made gains on quite a few projects. I have been accumulating supplies for building my tiny little hay barn. I have picked up a couple of things that will go into my horse playground. I only need to finish up the roof of the greenhouse and then it will be ready for plastic. The spruce windbreak on the west side of the property got a few more trees last year. Just another dozen or so and I should be done on that side. I have been collecting seeds and nuts and as soon as the greenhouse is finished they will be started. I am hoping to be able to start more of my own plants, then my money will go towards plants that I can't acquire locally.
A fifty pound bag of orchard grass is ordered and paid for. A half pound bag of buffalo grass is ordered and paid for. I need to buy more blue grass but it's not on the shelves yet. That's an improvement. Last year grass seed was just a twinkle in my eye.
Fence continues to be my greatest challenge. Everyone expects there to be a norm. This is how you do fence. This is what it is going to cost. And it's just assumed that you have that kind of money. After all, if you moved to the country and built a house, you HAVE to have money. But I have spent a great deal of time on permies and I think I have some ideas to avoid spending a great deal of money. Then yesterday, I got lost on another site that was nothing but fencing. It was handy. I found some answers. And, I have more ideas. It's such a relief to have ideas and a plan.
Today, I will spend in the house. I will combine all of my many to-do lists. The "I Want" lists. The goals and the business plan will be updated. Then I will clean the bathroom. Mop the floors. Get the laundry done. Tidy the kitchen. Then tomorrow I will go out with the truck and start picking up tree debris from the woods. The debris will get taken to where I plan on building up fence and to every place where I think I might want to try doing some hugelkultur. Who knows, maybe I will even get the flat free tire for my wheelbarrow put on and I just might even get some manure tucked in amongst the rotting logs to get the hugels started. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of a productive year.
Louie
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Lately
So much has happened lately. I am still feeling kind of confused. Somewhat dazed. I think I mentioned Mac's heart attacks. Two at the end of November. That took the total for the year up to three. That was a learning experience. Then Max was born! We have a new grandson, Max Quilan Bascom. My oldest daughter, Max's mom, suggested that Mac and I liquidate the little farm and just move in with them. That came as a shocker to me. My husband is in favor of the idea.
On the farm front, I have been helping the neighbor with getting his fencing in. With winter coming on, there was not time to accomplish both my projects and his. He thought it was a good idea to work on his and then move my horses down to his place for the winter. I had promised the girls that I would never move them out again. It always turns into a bad situation. This time was no different. The neighbor has an aggressive gelding and he mixed his horses with mine after only a couple of days. His gelding cornered Pip and she tried to go out over the fence. The fence was a fairly tall electric set up with electro-braid rope style line. Pip hung up. Not only was she completely torn up and bloody from her hocks to her teats, but the rope did not break and she was pulse shocked for about an hour, we think. Her manner, her carriage has all changed. She seems to have been in a depression since then. She is not healed up yet but she is making gains. I want to bring her home in the worst way but the ground is frozen and I have no means to set new fence now. I want her home!!
The happy news is that I have had a farm angel. Another Parelli student sent me five hundred dollars to give me a boost in farm projects. With out that money, I would not have been able to get veterinary help for Pip. I've also been able to get supplemental feed. And I have also bought orchard grass seed to improve the hay field and to hopefully get a better yield next year. Hopefully the hay field will make a bit of money and then we can roll that over into other projects. There is still some money left. I have spent it about five times over in my mind, second guessing how it could best be applied. Additional seed? Fencing panels? Tree taps for the black walnut syrup? Rent an aerator for the hayfield? Plant materials? Lime? While the possibilities are not limitless, they are hopeful. And it makes me realize that I cannot give up here. Not now. Too many possibilities for living, to chuck it all away and move into my daughters basement.
It's morning, and the sun is shining brightly.
Louie
On the farm front, I have been helping the neighbor with getting his fencing in. With winter coming on, there was not time to accomplish both my projects and his. He thought it was a good idea to work on his and then move my horses down to his place for the winter. I had promised the girls that I would never move them out again. It always turns into a bad situation. This time was no different. The neighbor has an aggressive gelding and he mixed his horses with mine after only a couple of days. His gelding cornered Pip and she tried to go out over the fence. The fence was a fairly tall electric set up with electro-braid rope style line. Pip hung up. Not only was she completely torn up and bloody from her hocks to her teats, but the rope did not break and she was pulse shocked for about an hour, we think. Her manner, her carriage has all changed. She seems to have been in a depression since then. She is not healed up yet but she is making gains. I want to bring her home in the worst way but the ground is frozen and I have no means to set new fence now. I want her home!!
The happy news is that I have had a farm angel. Another Parelli student sent me five hundred dollars to give me a boost in farm projects. With out that money, I would not have been able to get veterinary help for Pip. I've also been able to get supplemental feed. And I have also bought orchard grass seed to improve the hay field and to hopefully get a better yield next year. Hopefully the hay field will make a bit of money and then we can roll that over into other projects. There is still some money left. I have spent it about five times over in my mind, second guessing how it could best be applied. Additional seed? Fencing panels? Tree taps for the black walnut syrup? Rent an aerator for the hayfield? Plant materials? Lime? While the possibilities are not limitless, they are hopeful. And it makes me realize that I cannot give up here. Not now. Too many possibilities for living, to chuck it all away and move into my daughters basement.
It's morning, and the sun is shining brightly.
Louie
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