Archive for April, 2005
April 30, 2005 – When will Spring Come Back?
Another freeze last night – record low on this date was 33 until last night’s 31. Most of the day was in the 40’s and windy again. Got two tanks full of water distributed so all the pine trees got watered. We use water off the roof of the barn that goes ...Read more.
April 29, 2005 – Getting Ready for Raspberries
The wind finally stopped blowing today, so this afternoon, I had a chance to prepare the ground for next year’s new berries. Rather than fight with digging up sod, or spraying it, we first put heavy paper over the grass.
Next, we put some old hay we scavenged from a nearby farm.
By next spring, the ...Read more.
April 28, 2005 – Goose Egg
Our “guard geese” have been laying lately. Opening the egg is like trying to crack a bowling ball. Although it is hard to see via this photo, here’s one egg filling up a frying pan with a knife for scale.
We got the geese after we started losing a chicken or so every other ...Read more.
April 27, 2005 – The “Upstairs Basement”
Shortly after Martin learned to talk, he referred to the attic as the “upstairs basement.” I thought that was a great way to describe what an attic is if you don’t know that word. It contains virtually the same stuff as the basement. I wonder if any grad students out there have done any studies ...Read more.
April 26, 2005 – Brother Kraig
I would be remiss if after featuring sister Julie, I did not follow-up with brother Kraig. A huge Wilco and Brother Trucker fan, he’s hooked on trout fishing in Iowa (that is a sport, not a band), and his job with CHEP managing reusable pallets.
Kraig also has a passion for fine wine. A ...Read more.
April 25, 2005 – Cool Things
We’ve been talking off and on about “getting off the grid.” The corn stove gets off most of the heating grid, but electricity is a long way away. My interest in a small wind turbine is rekindled with our leader’s attitude that it’s better to beg people (foreigners) to keep gouging us for ...Read more.
April 24, 2005 – BRRR!
Last night was cool – I was up at 6:30 am and was curious what it was like outside, so I got up and went outside. The weather said it was 28 in Marshalltown and 32 in Newton – so it was probably in between at high hopes. There wasn’t a lot of ...Read more.
April 23, 2005 – An Entire Saturday!
This was the first time in a long time we didn’t have Saturday morning class. So instead of our day starting at about 1:30, we were able to spend the morning cleaning house (I know, you are all real envious of that kind of fun). It was a very windy and cold day, ...Read more.
April 22, 2005 – Unscheduled Trip to Dr. Paschen
If you don’t see his name, it sounds (Dr. Passion) like a sidekick to “Ladies Man” – but he is our favorite pediatrician and we still drive to Ames to see him. Marty was learning how to clean out bee hives and sliced his palm open. It was a bad cut, but seemed ...Read more.
April 21, 2005 – Sister Julie
Sister Julie informs me that her radio station finally has a web site up with a page for her. She works for a Country station in Rochester, MN.
I could share a lot about Julie, but let’s just say she’s not to be confused with Julia Child. One of my favorite Julie cooking stories ...Read more.
April 20, 2005 – First Morels of Season
Went out looking for the first fungi of the season and had only moderate success – about 20 or so. Martin enjoyed it, but being close to the ground did not help him find any.
This morning was errand time – but some of note – got High Hopes Gardens LLC checking and credit cards ...Read more.
April 19, 2005 – Bonus hours
Today Linda had a dinner meeting, so I came home early from work. Claire made dinner on her own for the family and Martin and I went into the back pasture and finished the fence around the “island” planting. We just have about 100 feet of fence by the pine planting to move ...Read more.
April 18, 2005 – Finishing Up Mulching (sort of)
Today, I finished distributing the last of the mulch. Everybody’s tucked in, but I could probably add another truckload to make some thin spots a little thicker. Here’s a look at the pines completed
Sharp eyed readers may notice that some of the trees are protected by a fence and others are not. ...Read more.
April 17, 2005 – Prairie Burn
I had a welcome diversion from tree planting this late afternoon to help at a prairie burn. Yesterday we were wet because of rain today because of sweat – it was in the 80’s. I was ready to stop looking at trees and mulch for a while! Although I’m glad to report all trees ...Read more.
