Archive for October, 2008
October 17, 2008 – Reading Like a Cat
It’s finally cool enough to light the pellet stove. Last spring I bought about 5 tons of wood pellets. They work better than corn in the transition time between fall and winter as they can burn less hot. Martin takes advantage of the warmth and cuddles up near the stove with a good book. one ...Read more.
October 16, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #137
Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry. What kind of plant is this from? Also check out the last thingamajig answer. As always, put your guess in a comment below. Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer. one year ago…”Uruapan: Water Everywhere”
October 15, 2008 – Pepper Harvest
A few days ago you saw pictures of peppers in the field. This is the LAST group of peppers to make it to the freezer. A number of light frosts have finally knocked the plants back. one year ago…”Self-Directed Excursion”.
October 14, 2008 – Toothless Martin
Don’t you love 1st and 2nd graders with missing front teeth? Martin’s went down with some mashed potatoes, but it was not retrieved; nonetheless, the tooth fairy did ante up without the physical specimen of the tooth. one year ago…”Destination: Patzcuaro, Mexico “.
October 13, 2008 – Pastured Turkeys
Our pastured turkeys are now out living the good turkey life. These are the regular old commercial turkeys but we’ve trained them some new tricks. We move this old hay wagon around the pasture with their feeder connected to it. If it’s not raining they roost on top of the wagon at night. We’ve got ...Read more.
October 12, 2008 – House Painting
We had hoped to get new siding on the house relatively soon, but it is no longer in the budget, so the overdue house painting begins. Keep your fingers crossed that it is the last time to paint the house. It is much easier than the last time because there is new siding on the ...Read more.
October 11, 2008 – Homecoming 2008
I know you are all waiting to see what Claire wears to the Homecoming Dance this year after last year’s homemade duct tape dress. And now for something quite sad – Each day for a number of years I’ve chronicled the good, bad interesting and pedestrian on the high hopes blog. Any guesses what the ...Read more.
October 10, 2008 – Iowa Chops
Tonight it was “Boys Night Out” as Martin and I went to the inaugural Iowa Chops AHL (AAA affiliate of Anaheim Ducks) game. It took me back to my college days in Duluth when I had season tickets during the heyday of the UMD Bulldogs, when Brett Hull and others played for the Bulldogs. Martin ...Read more.
October 9, 2008 – Thingamajig Thursday #136
Here’s this week’s “Thingamajig” entry. Also check out the last thingamajig answer. As always, put your guess in a comment below. Hold mouse over this sentence to pop-up answer. one year ago…”Marshalltown High School Marching Band”
October 8, 2008 – Class Visit to High Hopes
This week a livestock class from MCC visited our farm as part of a day-long tour of many different types and sizes of livestock farms. We’re the token small, diversified farm on the tour. Here they are looking at an artifact from an unusual type of livestock – a partially filled frame from honey bees. ...Read more.
October 7, 2008 – Dead to the World
Today I was dead to the world – listless, lying in bed most of the day, too sick to even read. The good news is it only lasted one day. one year ago…”Old Man Stiffness”.
October 6, 2008 – Peppers at Peak
Even though it is the first week of October, the peppers are really coming on. It seems like a long frost-free season so far. These are some purple peppers. Some years we don’t get them to turn purple. Sweet bell peppers like these are a snap to preserve – just cut them up in strips ...Read more.
October 5, 2008 – Morning Sun Party
Today was a wonderful event hosted at Morning Sun Farm (if you look closely at the top of the barn that is in the beginning phase of restoration, you can see the old faded name painted on the barn). It was a celebration of life and friendship following the end of treatment for breast cancer. ...Read more.
October 4, 2008 – Hops Harvest
I’m guessing its time for the hops harvest. I’m a newbie at this, so if anybody out there knows the best time to harvest hops in this part of the country, give me a shout out. They’ve grown very well on a 16 foot cattle panel propped up against the shed. I wasn’t sure how ...Read more.
