Our Visitor

The other day, Gloria was looking out the dining room window. She saw something that surprised her. A snake in the bush just on the other side of the window. 

She showed it to me, and I identified it as an anaconda. I identify most snakes as anacondas. You know; the ones you want to stay away from. I estimated this visitor to be over 4 feet long.

Actually, it appeared to be a black snake which I confirmed with a search on the computer. Black snakes can grow up to 6 feet. They eat all sorts of small animals such as mice, chipmunks, frogs, moles, etc. So, that makes them something of an asset around the house. They are non-aggressive to people; attacking only when provoked. Believe me; I do not provoke snakes. Also, non-poisonous.
Our "buddy" eventually moved on, and we haven't seen him since.

Now in reality, I don't mind snakes, if they are on the ground. But when they get up above me, it give me the jitters.

The Unveiling - afterwards

After the unveiling of the fig trees, we waited and waited and waited for something to pop up. Nothing came up. I was just about to cut down the dead plants when Gloria mentioned that she saw some new growth at the base of the trees. 

Sure enough the trees were coming out. Now, at this time (6-28), there is significant growth and the plants look very healthy. I don't know if we will get any figs or not but the plants have survived one of the colder winters that we have had in a while. 

I'm not sure that we will do the "mummy" method again or not, but it was fun trying.

The fig trees after they had sprouted from the base.

Blueberry Patch 2.0

As you may remember, last year my son-in-law, Jerry, and I put up an enclosure around our big blueberry patch. It was made out of PVC pipe. I chose the PVC pipe as a cost saving measure. The whole thing cost less than 100 bucks. During the snow storm last January, it was torn up completely. 

The original "cage"

I decided when the weather got warm, that I would redo it with better material. 

In the mean time, my next door neighbor's son hit my mail box and tore it up. I made a deal with his parents that if he gave me 4 hours of work, he would pay off the cost of the mail box. Unfortunately, he is on the Mooresville golf team (no. 2 golfer and Sectional champion. Way to go Jake!) and wasn't available to do any work until he got out of school. That was at the end of May. That wasn't a problem because we only want to put up the netting when the berries are getting ripe, and that's now.

In addition, s-i-l, Jerry, was visiting again. So, I had two helpers. The first Saturday in June was the work day. We put in 15 4x4 treated posts with cement in the holes. I have a friend that loaned me his power post hole digger, and that was a big help. 

Putting in a post.

Checking for level. 

 

The next week Jerry and I put stranded wire across the post, and, then, Gloria and I put up the netting along with some straw to keep out the weeds. (Jerry and Suzanne had left.) 

The finished enclosure.

Along with the other two older blueberry plants, I guess that we will get a more than gallon or so of berries. 

It goes to show you that you should never go too cheap when doing a project.  It will cost more in the long run.

Firing Up the Garden

I got into the garden spirit yesterday (Monday, 4-21) I tilled up a neighbors garden, planted 6 trees (2 nectarines, 2 English walnuts, and 2 bush cherries.), and three raspberries. In addition, I mowed most of my yard.
Today, I got into the garden and planted lettuce, spinach, onions and peas. I also got the area that I'm planting tomatoes and potatoes ready. Some tomatoes will go in tomorrow. I'll, also, plant some flowers in my and my wife's flower beds.
This the busiest time of year, and I love it.

The Unveiling

My wife convinced me that it was time to remove the coverings on the fig trees. It was last Saturday (4-19-14) and the sun was out and the temperature was very comfortable. After all was said and done, the trees did not look in as good a condition as I had hoped. However, we need to wait a week or two to be sure.

 The two figs with coverings.

  The coverings being removed.

 Two happy gardeners with the coverings

 removed from the fig trees.

Sorrowful Sparrows

This years foolish birds are sparrows. I heard the usual thump against the dining room window and went to look  to see which bird it was. I was somewhat amazed to see a sparrow thumping against the window. I was more surprised to see more than one sparrow attacking the window.
The windows need a good cleaning.

Spring Song

The pussy willows were late this year, by several weeks. The cold weather has slowed up just about everything. This years rendition was sang solo. My partner in song has laryngitis. Although, she was next to me, giving me encouragement.
 

I know a little pussy

Whose fur is soft and gray

She lives down in the meadow

Not very far away

She'll always be a pussy

SHE'LL NEVER BE A CAT

Cause she's a pussy willow

Now what do you think of that!

The yard is very wet from the recent rains. But, the next several days are suppose to be sunny. So, the first mowing is soon. I need to get the last of the fall leaves off the yard.

Gardening - March

Now is the time to plant those vegetable and flower seeds. I started mine last Saturday. Some of them have started coming up already.
I make my own seed pots out of news paper. Its simple to do. If you are interested you can Google  making paper pots, and I'm sure that you can find some instructions.
I started tomato (5 different varieties), cabbage, broccoli, peppers (5 different varieties) zinnia, geranium, petunia, celosia, and cosmos.
I started many more plants than I need, but will give the extras away to church members, who are also gardeners.  I think that its as easy to start a dozen plants as it is to start 3 or 4.
I start my seeds in the basement under lights. They seem to grow pretty fast. By the end of April, they will be ready to put outside to begin the hardening off process.
I may place some of the tomatoes out earlier using something called Wall-O-Water. These things keep the temperature around the plants up by absorbing heat during the day and giving it off at night. They are good to around 15 degrees.

 

Some of the seeds that have already popped up from the ground.

 

My set up in the basement.

With this, I can start 8 trays of seeds containing 32 pots each. 

The trays that don't have seeds popping up, yet, still have plastic wrap over them to help hold in the moisture. I water the pots every day to keep the moisture levels high. After the seeds are up for a couple of days, I will start fertilizing.

Outside, I have begun to to clean up the yard. We had a lot of tree limbs knocked down in the storm last January. It will take several days or longer. :)

Technology 2 - even more

Well, the repair man came and said that the oven controller was broken. He left, and a little while later, I got a call from the repair company, and they told me that no one supplied the part any more. Our stove is about 20 years old. But, they had some one who repaired than. G thought that we could get a new  stove for a little more than the cost of repair. At least, that's what her co-workers told her. I had gotten on line an priced a new range and knew very well that was not that case.
Any way, that night we went out to look at ranges. Sears, Best Buys, H. H Gregg, Clarks, and Home Depo.  All of them were priced in around $1500 +- . Significantly more that repairing the part. Besides that, the place that G's co-workers said to go to get the great deal was closed.
Our only decision was to go ahead and repair the part. Well, I get a call two days later from the repair company telling me the the part could not be repaired.
So, a new range is in our future. While we were out looking, we found out that slide in ranges (which we have) do not come in a standard size. So we have to be careful what we buy, because it might not fit.
Since the top of the range still works, we are careful not to NEED to cook anything in the oven.

Technology 2 - more

Well, the repair man came and said that the oven controller was broken. He left, and a little while later, I got a call from the repair company, and they told me that no one supplied the part any more. Our stove is about 20 years old. But, they had some one who repaired than. G thought that we could get a new  stove for a little more than the cost of repair. At least, that's what her co-workers told her. I had gotten on line an priced a new range and knew very well that was not that case.
Any way, that night we went out to look at ranges. Sears, Best Buys, H. H Gregg, Clarks, and Home Depo.  All of them were priced in around $1500 +- . Significantly more that repairing the part. Besides that, the place that G's co-workers said to go to get the great deal was closed.
Our only decision was to go ahead and repair the part. Well, I get a call two days later from the repair company telling me the the part could not be repaired.
So, a new range is in our future. While we were out looking, we found out that slide in ranges (which we have) do not come in a standard size. So we have to be careful what we buy, because it might not fit.
Since the top of the range still works, we are careful not to NEED to cook anything in the oven.

Technology 2

Well, the saga continues. Our stove is on the fritz. The oven doesn't heat up. Time for a call to the repair man.
I think the frig is the next to go, or it could be the washer or dryer. Time will tell.

Technology

You have to be careful of relying too heavily on technology. A couple of weeks ago,we had to replace our DVD player. Just after that my PC went on the fritz. I took it over to Best Buys to have the Geek Squad check it out. Their conclusion was that I needed a new motherboard. I decided to return home before I went to Frys to get another one. (I had bought it there.) 
On the way home I tried to use my cell phone to tell Gloria that I was on my way. BUT, the phone didn't work. I put it on the charger, that is in the car, but that didn't help. Taking the phone to the Verizon store resulted in the conclusion that the phone was dead. Luckily, it was still under warranty. 
I took the time to look at the paper work on my motherboard and saw that I had purchased an extended warranty on it. So, it was covered. However, after I had installed it, the system still wouldn't come up. I then realized that the problem was very very likely the CPU. I had played around with over clocking it about 2 months before and was getting messages that it was over heating (which I had ignored.). After replacing the CPU, (which was not under warranty) the system came up.
But that's not all!
While all this was happening, the microwave went out. Gloria looked at the paper work on it and found out that we had purchased a warranty on it too, and it was covered. So, after 3 weeks it is getting fixed. (Don't ask why it has taken so long. That has to do with wrong parts being delivered.)
So, DVD, PC, phone, and microwave went out in less than a 2 week period.
We don't usually buy extended warranties, but it sure made a difference  this time.
And we made it for awhile without these things.

During the snow of about 3 weeks ago, the satellite TV and internet went out. We sat around for almost 3 days without either. You learn to do other things.

Gardening - January

The new year is now at full speed. Unfortunately, for a gardener, things can be a bit slow. But, gardening never stops.
The weather, currently, is not very agreeable for out door activities. Last week, we had what some are calling snowmagedon. At the Glen, we got about 11 inches. That is the biggest snow since the "blizzard of '78". Fortunately, there was only a little wind with this snow. 
G and I shoveled the drive (~140 feet) twice. The snow blower was on the blitz. But, it has been repaired and is ready for the next snow.
Below are a couple of pictures of our yard. One of them will take some explaining.

The one on the bottom, is what I call the "twin towers". G calls them "the mummies". Either way what they are in reality  two fig trees. We have had them for 4 years. Currently, they  are about 6 feet tall.The last three years I have placed a huge amount of leaves around the trees, covering them completely. This has worked very well with the trees leafing out in the spring after the leaves were removed and producing some figs. The leaves were then spread over the garden area in which the figs reside. This kept the weeds down very nicely.
However, I made the "mistake" of showing G a web site that a fig grower exclaimed how he wrapped them in insulation and clear plastic sheeting and claimed it works great. The limbs of a fig tree are very limber. G wanted to try it. So, we did. The results won't be known until probably late April. Until then, our poor fig trees stand silently waiting to be unwrapped and drink in the sun of 2014. And, I'll have to figure out something else to mulch the bed with.

As I said, gardeners don't go dormant in the winter. So, you ask, "What do gardeners do to keep busy in the frozen months?" Well, they dream. Companies send us catalogs full of seeds and plants to buy to grow and eat and enhance the beauty of our gardens. It continues to amaze me how great a variety of plant life there is that God has created. I have, presently, about 12 different catalogs and will get more; I'm sure. I'll get multiple copies from some of the same companies offering discounts if I buy by Jan.31, Feb. 15, March 31 etc. Timing my purchase is important to get the best deal. Further more, I don't just look at them one time, but a multitude of times. It beats watching commercials on TV. 

I'll make my first order by the end of the month, so I'll have the seeds in plenty of time to do another thing that gardeners do in the cold weather; start their plants. But, that's another posting.