winter is here on the Homestead...

We came from here


http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1332538/

Thanks for the new thread.

I am praying for all you who are in the ice and snow. My sister is iced in in Dallas. We are not bad here yet. Temps in the low 40s but it is raining buckets. We are under a flood watch. No chance of flooding in my house but water is coming off the hill beside the house and running like a creek through my unfinished basement. I will lose more stuff to mold and mildew. I might as well just throw it all on the trash pile and get it over with. sigh They are calling for a break in the rain tomorrow then it will start again and the temps will drop turning the rain to sleet and snow. I would rather deal with the rain and higher temps.

Went to town today to fill the van with gas before bad weather. Had to get a handful of groceries and a few supplies. Ate while we were in town. Fed the horses and visited with friends at the country store. DH has not been getting out much and he is getting a bit depressed with the weather and not being with family for the holidays. It was good to see some folks. By the time we got home it was dark and raining pretty good. Got him in the house, put on my work clothes and set about feeding the animals here at the house. Usually takes me about 15 minutes in good weather so I figured 30 minutes tops with the rain. Got the dogs fed and the shed cat. Took the rooster feed and pony feed and hay around the house. I sat the rooster feed on the porch and went to feed the pony first. I had an unpleasant surprise when I got into his barn. The water was getting inside. So I put his hay and fed out and went to get the shovel and another light. I ended up working in the rain for an hour making temporary drainage ditches to route the runoff around the barn. I have to dig a couple permanent ones tomorrow when I can see and the rain breaks. Last thing my muscles need after the way I have pushed myself the last few days. I am having spasms like crazy but it can't be helped. The work has to be done and there is nobody to do it but me.

I got the Christmas tree put up and decorated yesterday. It looks nice and it has lifted my spirits a bit. I enjoy going through the ornaments. They all have a story and it is nice to think about the memories they bring up.

My work tomorrow also includes trying to get one of these three kerosene heaters to work. I worry about the power going out and us being cold. I don't like being cold. It hurts my muscles.

Please say a prayer for my first cousin's daughter. She has taken her 3 year old son, Will, to Baylor university hospital. He was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy and they are trying to get a handle on it and see what they can do to make his future as bright as possible in spite of the disorder.

Hey Caj,

I still have your household on my prayer list.

The next time you're in town, you might want to stop Walgreens or CVS, and get your husband some St. John's Wort. It's been used for depression for centuries for depression, winter depression, and "mania". It is a mood enhancer. I make Debbie take it every day, and I make St. John's Wort tea at least 3x a week. I used to get winter depression pretty bad, but I never do, anymore.

I have been cutting wooden parts for my greenhouse. I had the trusses already, and the short pieces that hold them together I had cut before. But that last few days I have been cutting the polycarbonate panels that will glaze the greenhouse, and the 2x4 frames that will be hinged to the frame for windows. I am almost finished with all the prefab work I can do. I think I have some help whenever we get a warm wave roll through. We'll be able to put this puppy together in a day. I am getting the forms together for the concrete floor for the stove. The stove is right next to where it will be set. The plan is to put up the greenhouse around the stove. Then after it's been up long enough to thaw the ground a bit, do the digging for the forms. Lay down some stone, and pour a bit of concrete. Then set the stove over 3 feet onto the pad and run the flue up.

Wednesday we are going to see/hear the Trans-Siberian Orchestra at the Nutter Center at Wright State University. I have wanted to go a TSO concert for years, but never could justify the couple hundred dollars for tickets. So I set up a change jug -a 5 gallon water jug- and I put all my change into it. I figure I have enough this year to either get Debbie and I to the concert, or buy a tablesaw. I was struggling with the choice when My mother called to tell me that she bought us tickets!! SOOOOOO, New tablesaw. I am taking the change jug to the bank and dumping it through the sorter-it's free if you have an account-Then off to Lowe's, Menard's, Home Depot, and my woodworker catalogs for a good Tablesaw.

I love Christmas

What a wonderful gift, Nik!

I had a cool table-saw setup with a big run-off table but it was too bulky to move/store. I get by with my big chop box, and a 10" bench saw on legs since I can't (or don't) do as much anymore.

I have a 4 gallon change jug too but there's not enough in it yet to matter.

Thanks for the prayers Nik. I sure do appreciate them. I will check into the St John's Whort. I get pretty down in winter myself but just keep pushing on.

I got a pretty good job done on Max's pen. The next day when I could see I shoveled mud, dug trenches, hauled gravel and rocks, hauled wood chips and put up some temp fences. We got 3" of snow so it will be wet as ever when it melts but I don't think it will be bad like it was. Guess time will tell.

How is your weather Darius? We got all kinds of rain but none of that awful ice others had to deal with. I pray you are feeling well.

Those are strikingly beautiful photographs, Cajun!

Thanks so much, PP. Glad you like them. I love taking pics. Used to do it a lot more. I wish my camera was one I could change lens on but it's not. It does take pretty good pics though so I am happy with it. I know it is capable of a lot more but I have never read the owner's manual. LOL How is your weather? My sister got hammered in Dallas.

I worked yesterday. I had to be at the truck stop to meet the egg truck at 0700. I got there about 0620. I had allowed some extra time due to the snow that I didn't really need. But, there was some kind of traffic snarl in Northern KY and the truck didn't get there until 430 in the afternoon. I was going nuts by the time he finally showed up.
I was contemplating taking the laptop or the kindle with me, but had decided to leave both home and snooze if I got there too early or if he was a little late (this particular driver usually is). I'll never go on that particular run without some kind of time consumer again!!!!

When I got home, Debbie decided I needed to go out. So she took me out for Mexican, where I had the Fajitas Tejanos, rice, beans, Guacamole (I LOVE guacamole) and a big Dos Equis Dark with extra limes. Stay Thirsty, My friends.......

Our concert is tonight and it's supposed to get down to 2°F. The family is having Christmas Saturday so that will pretty much finish it all up for us. I had to give Debbie hers already-a new laptop- her old desktop model burned up, smoke rolling out of it, the whole nine yards. She gave part of mine yesterday: a quilt she made me to use as I sat in my chair and read or surfed the net. It's warm and toasty.

If we ever get a thaw I want to run a fence around the new garden area. I already have the posts in the ground. I just need to hang the mesh and build gates. I'm going to build the gates in my shop, ahead of time. Then I'll just have to stretch the mesh and get the gates hung. I'm also putting an electric wire around the top to discourage the deer.

Praying you all (both? anyone here besides Caj and Darius?) have a most blessed and enjoyable time this year and please don't forget the reason for the season...

The TranSiberianOrchestra was freakin' awesome!!!!!!!!!! It was everything I had hoped it would be. Debbie said we have to figure out where to get the cash so we can go again next year. It was soooooooo great!! woot woot!!!

I am so glad the concert was a success. I have heard they were fantastic. The lady who used to cut our hair has been to see them several times and could not say enough good about them. Mayhap you can sell more ducks in the coming year or some produce from your garden. Have you ever had a CSA or entertained the thought? I have a feeling you would make a success of it.

It is bitter cold here tonight but you have us beat. We are expecting 16 in the morning but it is about that cold now so it may get lower than that by morning. It has not snowed in 2 days but most all the snow that fell is still on the ground. The spots where the sun hits has melted a bit but the temp has been well below freezing so the snow is still in place. Calling for more snow and rain on Saturday into Sunday. Winter here is depressing but we make the best of it. Please say a prayer we can get our heat pump fixed. The service man has been here twice to put in freon and the second time he found a leak. Thought he fixed it but it is still freezing up. Had it off completely last night as we were afraid it would burn up. It is not freezing as bad tonight so we have it turned where it just takes the chill off and we are using space heaters.

Had to go to town today to pick up some meds. It was very cold but we made a safe trip. Got home just after dark and had all the feeding to do before going to a ladies meeting at church. Came home and cleaned the kitchen and cooked a couple deer burgers for DH. Made him some jello for tomorrow. Think I will try to settle down now. Pray you all sleep well and stay
warm.

Max seems to be asking what on earth happened while he slept.

Yesterday morning in town it was 2°F. Here on the porch it was -2 and behind the barn it was -3. Whatever the temp actually was it was colder than a welldiggers bare #$@ in the mountains. But it wasn't cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey; that's -13°F. That is an old Navy saying and has nothing to do with furry tree dwellers or testicles.

It's not as cold here this morning, and later it's supposed to get near the freezing(thawing) point. However; Tonight and tomorrow we are expecting 3-6 inches of the white stuff. Tomorrow we are supposed to go to Cincinnati to my mother's place for our annual Christmas. We always have the big family gathering a week or so ahead of time, then on Christmas itself we can stay home with our families. It's about 100 mile drive for us so we are hoping the roads are in decent shape. Debbie has quilts she made for everyone and they are taking up a lot of space here in the house.

I am in awe of anyone who has the skill and patience to make quilts!

Do you have pics of the quilts? I love handmade quilts but I have never made any. My Momma was a very good quilter as is my Sister. My sister makes a quilt for each grandchild. Her three boys are keeping her busy. Between them they have 16 children and are expecting three more next month. She also makes them each a doll.

I sure hope you have a safe trip. I worry about the roads in the snow.

Brrrrrr, Nik! Hope you have a safe trip to the family gathering in Cincinnatti.

I had to go off the mountain yesterday for a doctor's visit and the left lane on I-77 south still had icy patches, so I stayed in the right lane through the treacherous and rapidly descending curves at Fancy Gap (NC-VA state line near the Blue Ridge Parkway).

I love quilts but only have a gifted twin-size one (and not as well made as older quilts). I find they don't keep me warm even over a blanket. My antique Hudson Bay 4 point blanket keeps me too warm!

Thought I'd add an update to what's going on here at my place over the last few months. (I share this house with my sister although we each have separate quarters except we share the laundry room.)

2 years ago I enclosed 75% of the back deck to make space for 2 freezers and some storage. The deck had a flat roof and it constantly leaked. This summer I had a contractor over-roof it with rafters that had enough pitch for rain to run-off, and this fall we had enough money to finally shingle it.

We added an exterior door to the back wall of the kitchen and put in a window where the old back door was.

The central core of this house was once a single-wide mobile home before it was built-over and rooms added. We've had many leaks in the plumbing underneath the floors but we got most of those pipes replaced in summer of 2012. This year we got the spongy sub-flooring above the previously leaking areas replaced, and interior cut-off valves installed on all the sinks and tubs.

When previous owner's added a stick-built roof (over the original trailer) large enough to roof over the added rooms, there wasn't much insulation so we added 10" of insulation to the roof.

Recently we have finally replaced the flimsy closet doors to my sister's long closet, changing the opening size... and put in drywall where we added a door and a window. Right now we are replacing her garden tub that developed cracks, and of course the flooring underneath was rotted. Hopefully the tub and surround replacement will get finished this week. Our contractor has a full-time sub-contracting job and can only work for us on Saturdays.

I just had the garden shed jacked up to being level again, and had to put in new flooring where the old floor had rotted. We still have to add concrete blocks to shore up the foundation perimeter.

There is still a LOT to do here before we can think about getting to finished flooring, maybe hardwood down the road.

All in all, it has been a productive (and expensive) year.

I have some pics of Debbie's quilts, but I can't quite figure out how to post them. It's a bit frustrating. I'll figure it out here in the next day or so.

The Family Christmas was a huge success, even with the missing faces. I have lost 2 sisters in the last couple years, and my mother lost her best friend this past summer. She would always start hassling me to bring her my famous Sweet Potato Pie. This year, though, No one got mad 'cause I didn't. Cherie thought I knew everything; when her and Mum and her other old lady friends would play trivial pursuit she would call and ask me the answers.

The quilts stole the show. Especially the one Debbie made for Mary, my youngest sister. I got my niece's 2 kids Stuffies. Hudson got Blaze the Brave Dragon, and Sidney got Tamara the Turtle. Debbie got a nice set of silverware from Mum, and Mum got Life Alert from Debbie and I. I got a New Kindle from Debbie -the paperwhite- it's backlit so I can read in the dark.

The drive down wasn't too bad; I kept it below 45 and allowed an extra hour to get there. It was nasty driving, but we only hit a couple patches of ice. It was mostly slushy wet. Still, it was a real relief when we got home and had our evening tea.

Sounds like a good trip all-in-all, Nik.

I'll be among those awaiting quilt photos.

Darius, you have been very busy. Hope most of the construction projects are behind you. With all that going on, have you had any time to work on new food or garden related projects? You always come up with the most interesting things. Your mind must never stop.

Nik, I am glad you all had a safe and enjoyable trip. It all sounds wonderful. Family gatherings are the best. We make the most of ours though they are few and far between. We are looking forward to our trip home for the baby next month. You will really enjoy your kindle. I have downloaded some more books and have been reading quite a bit lately. I get notices in my email for free book deals.

Gotta run. Still have to get the feeding done before sign class tonight. I baked some cupcakes and a mini bundt cake for tonight. It is the teacher's birthday today. I have been house cleaning. One bedroom last night. Even took the bed apart and vaccumed. Did the bathroom today. Cleaned the floor with a brilliant pad around the baseboards. Not fun but it needed to be done. I will try to get one room done each day and have it finished before Christmas. This week will be busy. We have our church Christmas banquet Wednesday night, doctors and town errands on Thursday and a sleepover at church for the kids Friday night. We will go caroling also. Hope I get some rest Saturday. You guys keep warm.

Here are some of Debbie's quilts. The white one is my the king sized one she made for my baby sister. It you look at the bottom of it you can see some of the quilt our bed is covered with. She had made that one for me for my birthday the year we started dating.

The diamond pattern was made for a young amish couple who got married this past spring. Clifford's family lives next door to us here. Good neighbors are worth gold.

Suzie's quilt was actually one of 3 that she made for my sister Mary's 3 daughters. They were a big hit.

And of course there's our hero snoozing under my new chair quilt in my recliner. These pics ought to give you an idea of what Debbie does.


Im doing something wrong; how do I attach pictures?

I think I did it right this time...

Lovely quilts, Nik. Debbie has a real talent!

Those quilts are awesome! I am very impressed by Debbie's skill - talented indeed. (Our hero isn't bad either.)

The one in the 4th pic was done in a weekend. the one I'm snoozing under was done in about the same amount of time, maybe a bit longer. The white one she worked on for 4 months, and the diamond took her a couple months. I am constantly amazed by what she churns out. She is over to her Mom's right now and they are -of course- quilting. They are both self diagnosed fabriholics. hehehehe

I continue to be increasingly amazed.

How is the weather around everyone? I am underwater here, almost literally. We have had almost 6 inches of rain in the last couple days, plus the snow it melted. My mobile home is on a knoll, but we are surrounded by water, everywhere. I had to drive through 2 inches of water for close to 100 yds to get from the road to the house. I've never seen it quite this wet before.

We are having rain, but nothing like you have, Nik. Temps are weird... high of 68º today and by Tuesday it won't even get above freezing!

The wet weather is holding up some outside fix-it projects I hoped to have finished before Christmas. That includes chimney cleaning so we can use the wood stove for heat and cooking in case of a power outage.

We finally got the garden tub and surround in the master bath replaced; the floor underneath was all rotted out too. It now looks great! No mobile home places here carry those tubs so it came on an 18-wheeler from Alabama. I could have put in a standard house tub unit but that would have meant moving a wall since standard tubs are longer.

Happy Solstice and longer daylight!

Hi. May I join you? I live on 80 acres in NE Oregon, which is the dry side of the state. Our neighbors raise cattle and sheep, put up hay for them, etc. Most everybody in this part of the country raise cattle, there are many ranches of thousands of acres, and not very many people. Our 80 acres is a very small place by comparison. A couple of our neighbors are market gardeners. The neighbor next door, half a mile down a gravel road, got me started growing garlic to sell. I help him with all sorts of planting, harvesting, etc. This winter he just put up a hoop house that is 90 ft long. I get to help with learning how to grow vegies in it. Should be fun! During lambing season I help another neighbor with the sheep. I call myself the midnight midwife. Other times I help with cattle, and try to keep up with my own garden.

Our place was homesteaded in the late 1800's. When we moved here 20 years ago, the original homestead house was still standing (sort of) and we could read the dates on the newspapers glued to the walls. 1897, with articles about the Alaska gold rush, and ads for steam ships leaving Portland to go there. We took the house down before it fell on somebody. In the 50-60 years after a newer house was built, the building was used as a barn, then a machine shed, and was full of old junk when we bought the place.

Weather here is hot and dry in the summer, and generally cold and dry in the winter. Our annual moisture is less than 10 inches. We have views of the mountains, and feel like we can see forever on a clear day! At present we have 6 inches of snow and everything has been frozen for weeks.

Hey Mary, nice to see you here!

I have a question for you since you are now working with someone who has a hoop house. I assume you mean a high tunnel? I have a question from one of my blog readers about when to start seeds for raised beds in a high tunnel. She's a newbie gardener in West Virginia, just slightly a warmer zone than yours.

I haven't a clue what to tell her.

Hi Mary, and welcome! I mostly lurk here, but you will be an inspiration for many of us.

Hey friend!!! So glad you found your way over here. It is my favorite DG spot. How are your horses fairing in the cold and snow? Do you have anything in your GH now? I know a couple people in this area who are gardening in tunnels. Not high tunnels. Just over the rows and their veggies look great. They plant in late August like you'd do down south for a fall garden. But they plant cold weather crops because the tunnels are not heated. They have fabric over them and then plastic over that. Mary, I am looking forward to reading the lambing diaries over at TGP. I do not envy you those cold late night rounds.

Nik, those quilts are awesome. Does she do all those by hand? Incredible. My momma was a quilter and she used to go to quilting parties at my Maw Maw Vercie's house. The quilting rack hung from the ceiling. When they were quilting they let it down and sat around around it. When they finished it was roleed up and raised up to the ceiling. It was in the heater room where it was nice and warm in winter. Maw Maw Vercie kept a scrap bag she cut her squares from. It was filled with old dresses and table cloths and stuff like that. She never wasted a thing.

It has been very pleasant here temp wise but it started raining last night and it is really wet out. We are in no danger of flooding but it runs through my basement and makes a mess of the pony lot. That little snot got out yesterday and went down the road. I had spent the night before at church at a sleepover we had for the girls. I stayed late to fill the treat bags we gave out today after church. Steve came looking for me so we could go get the pony. Then Max did not want me to catch him. GRR. He has spent too much time eating and not enough time working. That will change come spring. Got him back in his lot and turned the fence back on.

We had a really nice service at church today. We had gifts for the teachers and leaders and we had treat bags for everybody. I got a new CD for being a teacher and a sub. It is the Issacs and it is blue grass. I got to pick it out because I am the one who went and bought all the gifts. LOL

Need to get ready to do the feeding before church tonight. Going to start early because I am fighting off a headache. Hope you all have a great day. What are your plans for Christmas?

Hi Mary, I doubt very much that anyone will mind if you join us. Wolf's Rest Farm is 8.73 Acres of Logan County in the Glorious Buckeye State. I am about equidistant from the villages of Belle Center, Huntsville, Rushsylvania, and the county seat of Bellefontaine. The courthouse in Bellefontaine sits where Blue Jacket Town was back during the War of 1812, when Ohio was part of the NW territory. Most of my neighbors are amish; it's a good place to live.

My wife Debbie and I raise chickens, ducks, geese, white pigeons, pied guineas, pigs, goats, sheep, and veggies. We have planted thornless blackberries, mulberries, aronia, goji, horseradishes, asparagus, and juneberries.

Caj, no. Debbie is a modern girl and uses a 1950s era Singer sewing machine. She won't get a new one because this one has metal gears, and the later ones have plastic.

Darius, My flooding isn't anything compared to La Rue, Ohio. My step daughter has 14 inches of water in her living room. It's part way up her second step. We can't even get into the town to get them to bring them here. At work, the water is in the incubators, and the Sciota isn't supposed to crest until 2200 tonight. It's going to be a rough week.

Nik, my step-father grew up in Bellefontaine, where the family raised celery after they came from Holland when he was just a lad. He left Bellefontaine when he joined the Army in WWII and never went back, although the rest of the family stayed.

I've never been to Bellefontaine.

My grandfather's people were all from Ohio, coming from Fort Redstone in the far western PA mountains in 1801 to Wheeling, Belmont and Zanesville, back when there were no roads much of anywhere except the more coastal areas. My grandmother's people were in Chilicothe, and a few still remain there.

Darius, the high tunnel is 20x90 ft, and about 10 ft high in the center, with straight walls up to about 4 ft before the bows start. I think we will start putting some seeds in it about the end of Feb, hardy things like kale, cabbage, and some lettuce, maybe radishes and things like that. Neighbor is busy figuring it out. Planting will be into the ground, not pots. for the first year, about 3/4 of it will be planted to a cover crop as the soil is tired. Then every year we will rotate things. After that first year we will try to keep 1/4 in cover crop and 3/4 in production.

Hubby used the tractor mounted snow blower today to clear the driveway, then pushed snow from the parking area into big piles that will be part of the landscape for the rest of the winter. Patch, my one remaining horse, used it as an excuse to run and prance around with his tail in the air, and try to snort the monster away. Silly guy.

NikB, I think you may be the only one here I don't know from other forums or sites. Sounds like you need a boat!

Thanks, Mary!

I'll pass the info along, although she is probably like your neighbor where it is a learning process.

I did a "low tunnel" one year and it went to waste. Too old to stoop even if I removed the cover part-way.

Darius, what is your Step-fathers family Name?

MaryE This is the only thread I follow on DG. I am on Yahoo groups homestead work, and OrganicHomesteadGardening, and a couple others.

Here for exhausted ground they have discovered Japanese winter radishes. They grow anywhere, are big enough to aerate the heavy clay soils, and add a lot of biomatter to the soil. as a bonus you can pull a couple out of the ground whenever you've a hankering for fresh stuff. they boil well and mix with spuds for mashing or frying, and they can be pickled. Groundhog is the most popular one around here. But any Daikon type radish will work. I've seen fields of 100 acres covered with them.

I don't need a boat here as all my water has drained already. However; LaRue, Oh, where I work in a hatchery, is still underwater. My Boss told me to stay home for the time being. We're going to have to go there anyway, though as my step-daughter is flooded out.

Nik, they were named Lindeman. I wasn't close to my step-father so I don't know much about his family in Ohio.

I've thought about growing Daikon's in some areas where the soil is very compacted, just never got around to doing it. Lack of a plow or tiller to break up enough compacted soil even to plant seeds is a deterrent. The older I get, the less hard work I want to do even though I know it's better than vegging out.

We had 1000's of acres near here that didn't get planted last spring because of a very late snowstorm. All most all those acres were planted to radish.
Also, the people that raise garden peas for canning companies are planting radish as a cover crop after the peas are harvested.
We had quite a few planted here, but they were to sell. Usually charge a buck apiece for a good sized one.
Did you know they are on the bars in Germany to eat along with beer.

Beets and beer? Weird! But then the Germans eat chocolate pretzels with beer too...

These are radish, not beets.
Pickled beets go with anything.

Speaking of weird things that are consumed together... years ago Time magazine did a survey on what people ate with champagne. The #1 answer was Oreo cookies!