Boy are we in need of some sunshine about now. Yesterday it was cloudy, misty, and very windy so we didn’t venture out too much. I seeded out several squash and organized some of our messy seed bins. Meanwhile, Will took the tractor out to pick up a big load of wood from our friend Matt’s clearing. It’s a shame to have such great wood just lay around and rot. Or, worse yet, get shoved into a pile and burned up.
I got the last of the Cowboy Candy syrup canned up. Now I have lots of syrup so I can make a big bunch of Gaucho relish from the Sugar Rush Peach peppers. We sure eat a lot of that, in recipes from meatloaf to baked chicken. It’s not hot at all, as the seeds are taken out of the Sugar Rush Peach peppers, leaving just the fruity flavor and some spice from the jalapeños. Perfect!
I had four peony roots I’d ordered this spring plus several bags of fancy double daffodils and three bags of grape hyacinths and crocus I needed to get planted before the ground freezes. So, today, with the sun out and it being fairly warm, I tilled up a chunk along the driveway that’d never had a flower bed before, with the baby Kubota, and planted the peonies. Then I took some daffodils and small bulbs down to my late husband, Bob’s, garden in the woods. The digging was hard down there, with tree roots and hard soil. But I managed to get several handfuls planted. Yes, even after all these years, I still miss Bob, even though I’m now happily married to Will.
I have several daffodils and many smaller bulbs left to plant around the peonies in the new flower bed. After planting, I’ll mulch with wood chips to help them settle in over winter. Hopefully, come spring, we’ll see a new pop of color where there never before was any.
I was doing a little shopping yesterday to fill in a few “corners” of our long-term storage pantry. Spices, mayonnaise, and another big bag of rice. No, we won’t need it. But perhaps someone else may. It’ll stay good for years, just waiting to be a lifesaver. — Jackie
Better half tilled some leaves into our annual garden but the ground is so hard from lack of rain. Forecast says good chance this weekend then “snowflake” for Monday. Will need to tomorrow or Wednesday to get the water heaters in place for the wildlife. I’ll start putting out corn here soon – corn is not a favorite when the daytime temps are in the 60s. But those temps will be gone if a few days.
The prairie restoration (not hard core mind you – my walnut trees are OFF limits as are cedar/pine/fir trees which benefit the wildlife) is looking so good. Push came to shove. there is space for vegetable growing but the soil would need amending – it was pasture at best 60+ years ago.
We’ve found as invasive plants are removed, natives as well as tulips/daffodils/crocus bless us with their presence. My later mother liked tulips and daffodils so I place some on her grave.
My ramp population rebounded quite nicely after we manually remove invasive plants. While not inexpensive, hiring a company to seek-and-destroy on our property proper should reap more ramps and other native plants.
The Miracle Grow aided paste tomatoes don’t taste bad. But it will not happen next year.
Cross your fingers a relative can socialize a feral kitten to be a buddy to our cat. I will test for FeLv like I do for all new indoor pets. Sad to have to euthanize but long term best for the newbie as well as FeLv negative cat.