Archive for April, 2007
April 30, 2007 – Blossoms at Sunset
Looks like the verdicts are in with the freeze impact. Most of the trees have at least a partial bloom, except the highbush cranberries and viburnum (which are usually the first to bloom).
The apples, cherries, nectarines, and plums all are putting on the blossoms.
one year ago…
April 29, 2007 – New (Old) Bookcases
Yesterday Grandpa Dave and G’ma Ann came down for Grandparent’s Day for Martin’s Kindergarten class. Martin had a great time showing off his classroom. But Linda got the biggest surprise of all, two stacking barrister bookcases circa 1906. They were originally her grandfather’s furniture and have been from Iowa, to Arizona, to Minnesota, and now ...Read more.
April 28, 2007 – Starting to Plant 150 Trees
Over Saturday and Sunday, we managed to get 150 white pines in the ground. All the kids were out of the house on Saturday night, so after a leisurely breakfast on Sunday morning, we got 55 in before heading off to church!
Here’s Linda near the end of the row along the east pasture. Notice the ...Read more.
April 27, 2007 – Not in our House?
In the 10+ years we’ve lived here, we’ve never had water in the basement. I attribute that to the siting of the house, on the highest point of land on the property, even if it is a little closer to the road than most farmhouses.
Driving home from swim lessons with Martin on Wednesday night, I ...Read more.
April 26, 2007 – Thingamajig Thursday #69
Here’s this week’s Thingamajig Thursday entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
one year ago…
April 25, 2007 – Fruit Blossoms = 3 Day Rain
It seems like every year you can pretty much expect a 3-4 day low pressure system to bring constant rain and wind during the peak of the fruit blossom time (hampering the bees from pollinating). This year is no exception. Only this year’s rain is a lot harder than most years (5.5 inches of rain so ...Read more.
April 24, 2007 – Congrats to the Hermnivores!
Yesterday, Claire’s “Envirothon” team from Marshalltown High School (The Hermnivores) competed at the state Envirothon competition. Here’s a description of the program from the sponsor web site:
The Envirothon is a team competition for high school students. In the field and classroom, teams of five students are challenged to use their knowledge and critical thinking skills ...Read more.
April 23, 2007 – Apple and Nectarine Blossoms Appear!
At least some of the apple blooms will make it. This tree is the most hopeful.
Blossoms as they are about to burst are a beautiful bit of magic.
The nectarine is the happiest of all the trees this year.
And as an aside for those of you who know me well – you’ll all be pleased to ...Read more.
April 22, 2007 – Plums Out of the Gate
The plums are out of the flowering gate! Looks like all the plum trees will have at least some blooms. Doesn’t look like a full bloom, but at least some of the buds made it through the freeze.
one year ago…
April 21, 2007 – First Round of Garden Planting
Today was a rare day. The spring garden was ready to receive plantings, we were all home, all day, and all the equipment ran as expected.
Here’s bit of a new idea for us that you probably can’t see too well yet. In the middle is a straight trellis of sorts for sweet peas for cut ...Read more.
April 20, 2007 – Putting Down Roots
Once you figure out which side is down and up, even a five year old can be a great asset in planting strawberries. Out current patch is starting to decline as some grasses have invaded from the corners and rather than burn them out with grass herbicide, we will move the patch to fresh ground ...Read more.
April 19, 2007- Thingamajig Thursday #68
Here’s this week’s Thingamajig Thursday entry.
Also check out the last thingamajig answer.
Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer.
As always, put your guess in a comment below.
one year ago…
April 18, 2007 – Martin Brings Home a Tree
Today Martin brought a tree home from school. He said everyone got a tree in his class. He didn’t know what kind it was. sually, the kind of tree would determine where to plant it – how big it may get, its effect on other plants etc. He said there was a note on the ...Read more.
April 17, 2007 – Coming out the Deep Freeze
The last few days have been back in the 70s after the long early April cold snap. We still are not sure how far along the fruit tree blossoms were when the cold weather came (teens at night and 3 days without getting above freezing). We should know in a few days to week or ...Read more.
