To-Do List

Yesterday Blake asked what the difference was between the little ticks we find on us and the big purple ones like on dogs. I told him the purple ones were full of blood.

(gross picture, I know.)

Silence and wide eyes. He was horrified to hear that ticks ate blood. "You mean they suck my blood?" he asked. "Yes." I also listed several other bugs that suck blood, it's not that uncommon.

He was quiet and contemplative for a while. Enough time for me to busy myself with whatever I had been doing. He then said, "We need to make a list."  Now this isn't the first time he has said this to me. I am a list maker. I have on-going grocery lists, to-do lists, summer project lists, etc. When I begin rattling off jobs or chores for the kids, Blake always wants to make a list. He loves to scratch them off as they are completed just like I do. I keep all my lists on a small clipboard on my counter. 
Here is Blake's list I found sitting near mine. 

Strawberry Surprise

I took some jars of strawberry jam down to my strawberry patch this afternoon for a “photo shoot” with my new camera. I picked a few strawberries and spent several minutes taking pictures in the plants. (Soon to appear in a making strawberry jam post) We then dug potatoes and I returned to finish picking strawberries. This is only the second year for my patch, it’s small, about 4’ X 4’. As I neared the final corner I noticed something furry hidden under the leaves. My first thought was a rat. I screamed, expecting it to jump and run, probably up my arm. But it was frozen and thankfully it was not a rat. 

This little rabbit was so still I had to look closely to make sure it was breathing. He stayed put for several minutes while I took his picture. I wanted so badly to pick him up but knew I shouldn’t. It took all my will power to just let him be.

This was the closest I got. And then finally as I picked the strawberry on the left, it shook the plant above his head and he scampered out. I hope he is back tomorrow. But then I might not be able to resist. We just might snuggle.

Strawberry Surprise

Picked, Washed, and Eaten

Our bounty from the garden these past few days has included spinach, lettuce, and strawberries. We've had many salads, I am hoping to make strawberry jam tomorrow, and this evening we had spinach lasagna for supper.

Rinsing spinach and lettuce is tedious work. I am finicky about my leaves. I must inspect each leaf to make certain there are NO BUGS hiding in the wrinkles. Luckily this year we haven't seen many bugs, yet. The rinsing process takes a considerable amount of time. I do most of it outside at our water hose. This way I'm not stuck behind the kitchen sink. I turn the hose on to a light spray and enjoy being outdoors, listening to the birds, Commander eating grass, and today thunder rolling in the distance. 

Inside drying.

My very humble spinach lasagna. (And very clean son, who combed his hair all by himself tonight!) Not so pretty but MAN was it good. I won't take the time to include the recipe, the internet is full of them. I used Emril's, with variation. 

In the Garden

Bad Bug

Good Bug

Little Snake

Big Snake (skin)

Working

Working

Not Working

Still Not Working

Working

Watching the Work

Firewood For Fall

Spring is a good time to think about fall. Just when the woodstove has retired from its long winter work, it’s time to consider the wood needed for the cooler temperatures of next fall. 

Rex works hard on our firewood supply. It is one of the chores I think he enjoys. However, with the longer and warmer days, we decided to all pitch in and help Dad fill the wood shed. 

Mmmmm, Mmmmm!

From St. Patty to Uncle Sam: Planting Potatoes and Corn

The traditional time to plant potatoes around here is on or around St. Patrick’s Day.  We were a week or so later than usual because of the weather.  

When you have a friendly neighbor who lends his time and tractor the planting is much easier. 

While the trenches are dug, the seed potatoes are prepared. It is best to cut the potatoes so that an eye is on every section. Some just quarter the potatoes regardless. I suspect it doesn’t matter that much.

Before the potatoes are dropped about every 8 inches into the rows, fertilizer is spread. We planted about 110 pounds of potatoes this year. 

 With the remaining prepared rows we planted G-90 corn. This seems to be the corn of choice and the variety we have grown every year.  It is a very popular sweet, hybrid corn that does well in this area. 

A kernel or 3 is dropped every 6 inches. In the past we have sown  3 or so kernels every 6 inches. However this year we are experimenting. Could we cut our costs by a two-thirds by only planting 1 kernel for every 6 inches and still get the same yield? We had differing opinions. We'll just have to wait and see.

Finally the implement is changed and the rows are covered.

If all goes well we should be harvesting the potatoes around July 4th and eating sweet corn soon after. 

Plugging Spores

As is evident from the blog we enjoy growing much of our food. Mushrooms are our newest adventure.   They take about a year to harvest and we are anxiously awaiting our first crop from last year’s planting.  In the meantime more spores were ordered and another plugging was on the spring to-do list. 

We have used White Oak logs for both plantings. It is best to make sure they are nice and wet. There have been a few rainy days this week so that part was taken care of naturally. 

Holes are drilled into the logs.

Next the spores are hammered into the holes. They look like small dowel rods wrapped in a thin cloth. I assume the spores are inside this cloth and spiraled around the wooden plugs.

After the plugs are inserted we countersink them further into the logs so that wax can be poured into the hole, sealing the spores inside and preventing any unwanted foreign spore from contaminating the log. 

Finally we find a shady spot to keep the logs. Nature does the rest. Although if the weather is extremely hot and dry we do water the logs.

Below are the mushrooms just beginning to show from last year's planting.                                  




There's nothing like men hard a work!

While this was going on outside, I had my project well underway inside. Cleaning, organizing, and purging our bedroom and closet. I had intended to do this is February but I could never bring myself to start. I knew what a mess it would be. Almost all the closet contents have been drug out into the room and sorted for keep, trash, or Salvation Army. I am NOT a nice person when my room looks like this. I've already had to apologize to all 3 members of my immediate family for losing my temper. We will all be thankful when this project is complete.