Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Snow Day

What a difference a day makes!  Yesterday saw us with sunshine and close to 60.  Today we may not make it much above freezing.  OH and did I mention the snow??  I'm once again like a little kid seeing snow for the first time.  I know I've said it before but I'm still not over the "newness" of snow fall.  Shoot, this ol' Texas girl hasn't seen much snow.  And what I have seen has always disappeared pretty soon after it hit the ground.  This little storm will be over and moved on by tomorrow and the sun's promised to come out again as well.

We've been taking advantage of the good weather we've been having (until today) and getting all sorts of things done around here.  Those big stacks of pallets that have graced the front of the barn for the past few months have been re--stacked and moved to a more out of the way place.  As has what's left of the tin from building the barn and various other odds and ends, along with a woodpile.  There's still another wood pile to move but it shouldn't take too long.

We've also been working on clearing more of the underbrush and dead cedar limbs along the front of the property.  That's one of those things that we'll get finished....eventually.  I'm not in any big hurry to get that finished as I think it kind of helps keep the dust from the road cut down some.  We had a nice fire yesterday, burning some of the brush we cleared out.  We've got a couple of different places that we burn things.  The trash barrel, a burn pile for "stuff" and then we have the wood burning pile.  Mars saves the wood ash and so we are careful with that one.

Oh, another thing we got done this past week was to transplant two redbud trees.   There is a stand of them under a couple of the cedars in the front.  Since they are a native plant and free (gotta love that!) we are going to try moving several of them around the property.  Last year we tried to grow some things in that spot but it sits right next to where the old burned down house was and there is all sorts of "junk"  under the ground.   While he was digging holes for the trees new home he found the old original septic tank! Good to know that its there.  Go figure.....

I've been playing in the greenhouse this past week as well.  We're still working with the temperatures in there.  I've started all the different types of herb seed I have on hand.  There are some things I'd still like to try and grow but finances are tight and what we have will do for now.  I've got a list (imagine me with a list!) started of some of the things I'd like to try and grow.  Most I've never tried my hand at but hey, I'm good at trying new things!  I may have to try to do some seed swapping for some of the herbs I'd like to try my hand at.  Unfortunately, all the seed I have is pretty common. 

 Anyway.... I guess that's all the news that's fit to print.  Have a Super Day!

9 comments:

  1. Wow, it will be three more months before the ground thaws out and it is warm enough to plant anything! Our snow days are different than yours. A snow day here means more than 2 feet of snow in a day, school buses do not run and it can be difficult to get anywhere without 4 wheel drive! Enjoy the snow and good luck with the seed swap. You will probably be harvesting before we start planting. :-{

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ian, I have such a problem wrapping my mind around having to wait that long for spring. 3 MONTHS??? You are right, I'll probably (hopefully) be eating salads by then at least. I'll be sure to think of you poor guys up there in the frozen tundra when I do! LOL

      Delete
  2. Our weather wasn't the best today and my wife wasn't feeling well, so it was an inside day for us, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sci,

    We both receieved snow and temperatures dropping. The weather people are predicting bad weather tonight into tomorrow with the possibility of tornadoes. Be careful!

    What type of seeds are you looking for?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sounds like you've made a LOT of progress! Sorting through, organizing and cleaning up always seems to help start the season off. Also with all that was there already, you had to dive in and sort later. Glad the weather has cooperated for you. Seeds, I'm thinking if we all put lists on our blogs of seeds we have extra... maybe we could swap around (within regions)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Think about water storage in the greenhouse to even out the temputure. Either 55 gal barrels or 5 gal buckets painted flat black will absorb a lot of heat during the day and release it at night when 4/5 filled with water. This kept my Anchorage greenhouse from overheating in the direct sun

    ReplyDelete
  6. When I was in college on the east coast [where I still am apparently :)] I was always tickled by my new friends who saw their first snowfall our freshmen year. Their excitement was infectious and all the years we were together at school they never tired of it snowing. It's like seeing something new through your child's eyes once again. Very special.

    My alma mater is up the road a piece [DC] and sad to say this year's freshmen class hasn't had the big snow experience this year. Yet. It isn't March yet. Weirder things have been known to happen.

    Glad you are trying new things. That is how Pooldad and I did it and we were just doing the basics - tomatoes, peppers, squash and watermelon - and hey, we all have to start somewhere. Doesn't hurt to try a few dollar pack of seeds, right? I do hope you get to swap tho'. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'd be glad to send you some seeds of the herbs I have, if you will email your mailing address to mysterycollector at gmail dot com. I have lime basil, which I love. I have cumin, and several others. I'd have to look. But I will send what I have.

    ReplyDelete
  8. OK, I had every intention of leaving you all individual messages, but it seems that WILDBLUE SUX has other ideas. So, we do what we do best. And that is to make the best of what we have!

    Mr. Smythe, I'm sorry to hear your lovely wife was a bit "under the weather", I hope she's feeling better soon, cause when Mama ain't happy..... well ... you know.

    Hey Sandy, isn't it funny we got most of our worst weather in one of the last months of winter? As for the seeds, I'm looking for medical herbs of any kind and also some more exotic herbs (for me anyway) that go beyond that old song. You don't remember the old song? "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" ;o)

    Kaitidids. You are so right about getting things uncluttered and cleaned up. It sure helps now because with spring around the corner, I'm going to need all the time I can find to get other things done.
    You know, that's not a bad idea about a seed swap. I don't know good I'd be at organizing something like that though, considering just how often I make regular postings here. LOL!

    Thanks Anon, I've passed your info along. As for the water in the greenhouse, the temporary fix is using my old propane canner burner and a huge pot of water on it (in my vented canner). There is also an exhaust vent fixed up. This is of course all temporary as Mars has BIG plans for it next year.

    So Skippy? Are you telling me I've got a sort of "childish" fixation on snow??? Bwahhahhahaaa!!!!!!! No, seriously, I know what you mean. No snow in DC? WTH????
    I checked all over our little towns around here for seeds, but pretty much all they have are the standard "Song" hebs. Maybe I should try a bigger town? LOL Are you going to try growing some vegetables again this year? I was so happy for you when you started getting your first stuff from your very own plants. There is nothing like it, is there?

    Christy, you are a sweetheart. Wow, I have never even heard of lime basil. Lemon, yes, but lime? Very cool. It sounds like you have some very interesting seed. I'll drop you an email for sure. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete