Brambly Ridge 2017

Continued from last year's thread.

I was here once, a month ago, to take the mower in for its annual check-up. Got it back yesterday and it looks nearly new. I set to work on the meadow, first finding the saplings and brambles, clipping and giving a squirt of 2,4-D.

The flowering plum at the corner is showing its age, but is still full of blossoms, and is the favorite bee spot. Stand underneath and hum along. The Jonathan apple is a dense tangle of limbs, so judiciously clipped to open it up. The pear tree appears to be loaded with tiny flower buds.

AM
Since it might rain today, I drove myself to get the meadow done yesterday, and nearly did. Multiple breaks between sessions, and my inner thigh joints ached like crazy. I’ve gained at least 10, perhaps 15 pounds this past year from want of physical work; and it’s slowing me down. Ironically, I rewarded myself with a Chinese buffet dinner. I haven’t brought foodstuffs back to the cabin yet this season, so I justified it. I went to bed before dark and had a marvelous sleep. Ready to go again today if that sun will just catch up.

Sunshine! Handsome black snake hanging out in the meadow this morning. A mite better than three feet long. I was able to get up pretty close; he objected if I got closer than a yard, but otherwise was chill. Hiked downslope to begin keeping the trails open to the best blackberry patches. Worked some freeing trees at the edge of the woods from wintercreeper. Noticing just how severe the infestation is. It is certainly the weed du jour.

Grasshopper (and tick) already! It’s March!
Inside, fly season is over and the ladybugs are swarming. I’m either going to have to replace these cheap windows or devise some kind of seasonal barrier.

After grubbing in the underbrush all afternoon, I had to take a nap.

>1 2wonderY: I began clearing debris in the yard today and my muscles are on the verge of collapse. You did a lot more than I did.

>1 2wonderY: starred!

I did a little today, but not as much as you.

Did you get a photo of the snake?

No picture.

Heard the pitter-patter of raindrops beginning around 5 am. I did get a few seeds in the ground between times. Peas, lettuce, radish & carrots.

Also saw a couple strawberry leaves, so they didn't all die.

My plantings seem to have encouraged more songbirds to hang out nearby. Winter berries and earthworms are now more plentiful. Some sort of warbler came and sat on a limb near me this morning and seemed to sing a song just for me.

note on mystery fruit trees

I say pear tree, but my neighbor says plum. Last year was the first it bloomed, and I missed it. I only observed tiny green fruits that were shaped like pears. They either dropped or were eaten. This year, I will again miss blossom, as I can't return next weekend. However, the buds range along the entire length of the branch, not clustering at the tips.

In addition, there is a wild committee of a tree that I've left there only because I haven't taken the time to notice it. Some kind of fruit tree, supposedly, but hasn't done anything till this spring. It too has blossoms finally, but clustered at the tips, way up on the tree. And the branches form a narrow vase. I say a committee tree because it has 8 or 10 small trunks.

>5 2wonderY: time to get a guide for trees?

And I do have half a shelf of tree guides and had a course in tree identification back another lifetime ago. I've just been focused elsewhere. My knowing what it is won't change anything. ; )

My timing this month has worked. This weekend looks to be a wet one, coordinating with my need to be elsewhere. I'm in Columbus, Ohio for the spring button show and competition. I missed last year and have stepped away from the hobby, but it's good to catch up on the lives of my button friends.

>7 2wonderY: button show
Well this got me curious enough to look it up.

Finally got back here! Wasted a day getting tires replaced – manufacturer’s defect.

And it’s already hot, though most of the trees have not leafed out.

Quick hike in the woods. Pawpaws have lots of blooms. Buckeye trees are springing up, which I hadn’t noticed before. Also beautiful beech trees – wonderful long buds and the prettiest pale green leaves. Mayapple. Spring beauty, Solomon’s seal and more that I don’t readily recognize. Will take camera next trip.

The two bigger apple trees, Jonathan and Stayman have a few blooms. One persimmon is in leaf, but not the other. But then neither is the wild one on the edge of the wood.
…
Dang! Out of shape! Second circuit, carrying the full kit, I got so fatigued I had to lie down on the moss to recover. Blood pressure issue? Difficult to drag myself back to the house. Left the sprayer at the bottom of the meadow. Lost my good set of hand clippers.

Poison ivy returning in the level down by the big maple. Subtle, but invading. Found several grapevines that I’ve missed in prior walks. Perhaps I’ve never sawed them this early in the season before. The watery sap just pours out of the cut. Amazing.

Not as much rain as normal. Rick’s lower pond is much shrunk. Walked the perimeter.
Planted last year’s left over potatoes.
Five Nope, seven of the nine cherry tree slips are leafing out. Yay!

sunday am

Knowing I have to leave early today, I really pushed myself to mow as long as the light held last evening. Got most of the meadow down to lawn level and mowed the side yard entire. That’s the worst of it. The main yard doesn’t need it yet. The original garden site still needs some work.

Also worked more in the blackberries, tracking down wintercreeper. What an unending job this will be.

I did break to go into town to replace my No. 1 tool, and visited Rose. She’s got her tomatoes out already; so I just had to stop at the Potting Shed. Picked up tomatoes, cabbage, sage, and a few flowers. I’ll have time this morning to stick them in the ground and mulch. I’ve been carting bags of leaves down each trip.
On my walk in the woods, I realized I have a perfect spot to cultivate ramps. I had bought a pound from some guys in WV by the side of the road and gave them to Rose. She’d already used some, but, for the chance to have them abundantly, she was glad to return them. Not much out there on cultivation, so I just stuck them back in the ground on the edges of a seasonal wet spot and mulched heavily with leaves. (Also a stray trillium that was in the bag too.)
Took an Aleve before bed and slept very well.

Got everything in the ground today, including some strawberries, before I had to pack up and go. Completely ready for a week out there.

>10 2wonderY: I spent a long day (for me), and I can't hold a candle to yours. I'm exhausted, just reading about it.

>11 Lyndatrue: I'm expecting to get down to fighting weight again this year, and I'm raring to go.

Daughter #1 just signed a purchase contract on a house, so a major move is in the cards for this year as well.

The wintercreeper wars:

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/forestryextension/KWM/Winter%20creeper.pdf

https://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2011/06/wintercreepersheet_06-3...

and especially
https://phys.org/news/2016-04-beauty-beast-efforts-successfully-combat.html

Not my photo, but a good representation of the issue:


Also noticing undesirables privet and multiflora rose need some discipline.

>11 Lyndatrue: agreed. I don't know where Ruth gets her energy!

>13 2wonderY: Yikes.

>13 2wonderY: I'm adding "wintercreeper" to my list of things to have nightmares about. Here it's Virginia Creeper, which ought to be illegal to plant in this area, but isn't (yet). How sad to see all those trees smothered.

I wondered whether goats would be a part of the solution

http://www.styleweekly.com/richmond/goats-are-eating-up-the-invasive-ivy-at-pony...

>17 2wonderY: would they stray, though?

I recall reading a story similar to that one, about goats for rent, and the owner brought some sort of temporary fence to keep the goats from wandering too far.

>16 Lyndatrue: we have Virginia Creeper here, too, but the worst stuff is the honeysuckle. Oh, and Privet. A pox on people who plant Privet!

I've got several tree identification books, but none is helping with the mystery fruit tree. Taylor's Guide to Trees is not at all helpful all 'round, and I'll probably toss it when I find something better.

Whenever an old building is taken down, I like to stop and survey the piles before its all scraped up and taken to the landfill. I managed to collect a dozen or so over-sized solid blocks, which are perfect for a pond project.

My pond was dug out on a spot that only slightly drops off to the east. So it appears to be tilted, with it filling to the brim on that end, but lacking water depth on the other end. My project is using the blocks to build up the east end. I spent Friday mucking out the weeds along the edge and freeing the liner. Not done yet, but the rough work is proving to perform exactly as I'd hoped.

It's been cold and raining since Friday night. I couldn't face the work under those conditions, so I did some housecleaning - bleh. But it's necessary.

I was given more raspberry starts, so I had to muck this morning to clear spots and get them in the ground. Thankfully, my kerosene heater was still out and filled; so was able to dry out and warm up before heading out today.

>21 2wonderY: I couldn't face the work under those conditions, so I did some housecleaning - bleh.
Bleh indeed. You're more noble than I am.

It's a spring essential though. Dead flies and ladybugs at the east and south facing windows, and nasty dirty windows as a result of the flies.

>23 2wonderY: Hmm, well, that might motivate me too. Outside dirt tromped through the house, not so much.

Digging established grass clumps out from the edge of the pond and hauling the debris to continue to fill in a low spot on the other side of the house. I was continuing the underbrush clearing in the woods below the house along the edge of a particularly luscious blackberry patch, hoping to be able to reach those jewels later. A beautiful brown bird came close and signaled distress, so I was nearing a nest; and I backed off.

I thought I had a bird identifier on my shelf, but didn’t. So when I went to town I stopped at the used bookstore. The proprietress, Avena, helped me find the perfect book for me. Birds of Kentucky is organized by primary color, with page sized photos for each species. So, Brown Thrasher.

Robie Books appears to be thriving, as is good and proper in a college town. They are renovating and reorganizing the collections. I noticed that the old TBSL books are absent from the main shelves, but are still piled up overhead. Avena said this was her way of salvaging them rather than tossing, as there is little demand for them anymore. She provided me with a step stool and I browsed for a few minutes, coming away with a treasure – Joseph C. Lincoln’s Christmas Days. I recommended Red Pepper Burns, as it was also up high, and invited her to come check us out at TBSL.

Found Sweetgum pods at the bottom of the property, but haven't identified the tree yet. Should get my binoculars out.

>25 2wonderY: a thrasher? Love them, they visit my suet feeders.

>25 2wonderY: Christmas Days was a good find, Ruth. I hope you enjoy it when you get around to reading it.

I try to buy at least one or two TBSL books when I run into them in any bookstore or at any book sale, even if they aren't books I've been longing for, to encourage the sellers to keep offering them and not simply discard them.

>25 2wonderY: and >26 fuzzi: I like thrashers; whenever we're walking in suitable habitat, I keep an eye out for them. I haven't seen one yet this year, though.

Most photos don't do justice to the glowing fox-brown color of the bird. This one approaches it:

>28 2wonderY: nice shot!

fuzzi and I managed to meet in the middle of our travels yesterday - she headed to Chicago, and me driving down to KY again. I met her spouse too. We had a lovely supper, and she will post a picture of us later.

We had completely blue skies this morning for about an hour after sunrise. Withing 10 minutes, the entire sky was overcast, coming in from the southwest.
My mower quit working last weekend, thankfully after most of the work was done. But my first priority was to haul it into town for servicing. Appears they missed cleaning the air filter in Feb. It is now working primo, though it looks like no mowing this weekend.

I'm headed back out to see what projects I can continue. I need more veggies in my gardens.

>30 2wonderY: It looked like you had a fun time, Ruth!

We had steady rain most of the day today, so no mowing, though the back yard needs it. My strawberries are flourishing, as are our cool-season crops (lettuce, radishes, carrots, salad turnips, mache — I think — and orache).

>30 2wonderY: picture is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/256581#6036243

And we made it to Chicago, safely.

The peach trees at the Potting Shed had fruit on them. I couldn't resist. The variety is 'Contender' and it sounds all good. I picked up some other stuff as well, and slopped around in the rain and the cold putting it all in the ground on Saturday. Then I couldn't locate any kerosene for my heater. I got disgusted and packed the car. Just as I was finished, the sun came out. I decided to get on the road and spend extra time with the grands.

A couple of heirloom tomatoes - Cherokee Purple and Mortgage Lifter.
Also a six-pack of cauliflower already setting florets.
Bell peppers and eggplant. More strawberries.

I saw a few volunteer cherry tomato sprouts in the blueberry bed.
I threw a bunch of lentils in an old compost pile comprised of lots of tree limbs, and I see they are sprouting too.

I'm outlining a new bed devoted to just raspberries. I'm going to have to be very severe with them in the first bed I introduced them.

One of my roses is blooming heavily already and daughter and granddaughter agree that it has the essential rose scent. We'd like to explore technique for distillation.

>33 2wonderY: Cherokee Purple tomatoes are probably our favorite. I think we liked Mortgage Lifter, but I don't know whether we'll be planting any this year; Brandywines are a certainty, though.

We've given up trying to grow bell peppers; they just never seem to work for us (and we've tried in three different states), no matter how well our hot pepper varieties do.

Will you be having red raspberries or black raspberries, Ruth? We've had red for a while but just put in a few black raspberries this year.

The ones taking over where I wish I hadn't put them (didn't have a spot for them when they were given to me) are reds. They were billed as late season, and they fruit into October, but I am seeing fruit set already.

A co-worker gave me a few starts of blacks recently.

The blackberry fields are white with blossoms.

This will not be an uninterrupted summer either. Daughter and her spouse are trying to purchase a house in Cincinnati. Gearing up to help pack, move and decorate.

Just checking in, so good to see you!

Finally back! I've got the whole week, so I'm being slow and savoring. This is the first chance I've had to actually let my flower gardening be more than a lick and a promise. Not that it all looks perfect, but I'm getting a lot of satisfaction from my play.

Hauling compost and dirt for the raspberry bed, though I haven't yet built the perimeter.

It's a reptile season. Killed my second copperhead. It was lounging on the edge of a flower bed, and zagged as I came by with the mower. It seemed dazed, but still alive. Took it's head off with the machete. Garter snake, earth snake, 2 fence lizards and 2 box turtles in the meadow. I encouraged them to move on, as the grass is so deep I won't see them when mowing.

Daughter took me to Michler's Greenhouse & KY Native Café to celebrate my birthday. Ancient complex of greenhouses tucked away in an old neighborhood. They took the rear, decrepit GH and converted it to an outdoor café at the back of the lot, amidst mature trees and plantings. Back corner is a huge sand hill, equipped with great old metal dump trucks.

>37 2wonderY: thanks for the link to Michler's: I loved looking at the "garden design" section, and could wander through those gardens for a bit.

It's reptile season here, too. In less than a week I've seen one (or two) Black racers, and a probable re-sighting of my little Rat snake from last month. I don't mind them one bit, in fact I enjoy seeing them, but a young female friend who was visiting freaked when I started exclaiming at the kitchen window at the sight of the Black racer, and she looked out too, lol.

More box turtles, too many to remember. One did just escape the mower by climbing onto a raised bed structure. He was a handsome fellow, with lots of red in his pattern. And he moved FAST! Another seems to be laying eggs behind the house. She has dug in over a deeper hole.

Lots of toads of all sizes, frogs and skinks too.

Scarlet tanager dipping in and out of the woods above the driveway. Wow!

I've had an excellent week. Made progress on several projects and mowed everything, except for a Mohawk strip in the center of the lawn.

I am well rested and I worked hard.

>39 2wonderY: I enjoy your nature observations, thank you!

I went back to the spot where eggs are presumably in the ground, and mama had done an excellent job of re-covering the spot with turf and flattening the debris to match the rest of the area.

>41 2wonderY: Good news (about the eggs being properly covered and hidden). So many precious things seem on the verge of vanishing, and it lifts the spirit to hear about something surviving. Love turtles.

I'll be cutting out a lot of saplings and junk trees and there are always branches to dispose. I'm ready to buy an electric chipper, but I can't find any locally, so I'll have to shop online. So I need information. Tell me your experiences with this kind of equipment, please.

>43 2wonderY: My experience with chippers is so old that it's pointless to provide you with brands, but I will give you one piece of information you may have know, just in case. My late husband was not particularly technical, and grabbed a cord that said (oh, god) 16 gauge (but it was the thickest, so that makes it best, right?). He should have paid attention to the attached warning on the chipper, which clearly stated that you should use 12 or 10 gauge on the device (smaller gauge for 100 foot cord, otherwise 12 gauge is fine).

Hey, Gizmodo even has some nice info on this:

http://gizmodo.com/5903218/how-to-choose-the-right-extension-cord-for-anything

(You can ignore most of it, but it does explain some things well.)

Here's another site that goes into some nice detail (you may have to click on "read more" to get to the useful details).

https://www.thespruce.com/select-proper-electrical-extension-cord-1824710

I recognize that you may already know most of that, but just in case...

When looking at chippers, decide ahead of time how big the biggest branch is going to be, and then make sure what you're looking at will accommodate it.

Yeah, electric wire gauge works opposite to what seems reasonable.

I found out that heavier extension cord was important after burning out my first electric mower. The repairman at the shop underlined the issue, and I've been careful since. The length of the cord is important as well for some things. My mower guy says not to use anything more than 50 foot cord. Longer cord = more resistance = more motor heat.

>45 2wonderY: :-} I have a lovely yellow 100 foot cord attached to my tiller (which I love, even though it will happily throw stones that it digs up at my shins). I have two 50 foot cords on my mower (which is electric). My yellow cord was a Christmas gift from my daughter, years ago (because she knows what makes my heart leap with joy).

>46 Lyndatrue: I love your gift! I've gotten excited over a new pair of pruning shears, or a Maglite, practical stuff but WANTED.

I'm in KY this weekend, but not in project mode. The only item I got done was to treat/stain some cedar siding preparatory to installation.

Daughter invited me to her work open house and we went for the tour and the food today. I've never had the chance to see the inside of a large manufactury.

Wow! Link-Belt Cranes is impressive. There is little automated in the process. Not that they lack technology. There are units that use the most recent computer tech. But these cranes are almost all built to order, and made by craftsmen, bay by bay. Rose has specialized in the formed boom shop. I got to see the entire process from sheet steel to painted component. Some booms are large enough to crawl through, the lattice booms are even bigger.

We walked through almost the entire plant. It was beautifully maintained and clean.

She moves to a quality control position next week in the lattice boom shop. One of the engineers stopped to tell me how impressed he is with her abilities. Makes a mother's heart feel good.

She described a review process called "kaizen." She has been on three teams thus far, and has earned a yellow belt.

>48 2wonderY: thanks for sharing the open house information. It's good to hear of craftsmanship still being utilized. :)

Besides breaking the mower, so that it won't start now (that's my karma), I took down a sycamore tree in the grove behind the house. I started taking this one out last year, girdling it; but it continued to leaf out and grow taller. It was between 30 and 40 feet tall, and still immature. It's not a tree I want in that location because they grow fast and massive and will be too much shade and create lots of babies. I'd already taken one out on the edge. Realize that all I'm using is a small bow saw.

The weight of the tree was leaning downhill, and I cut a wedge on that side. Then I started removing material on the uphill side, and my mistake is that I didn't leave a wedge in that space. The wind must have caught it and made it lean uphill toward the house. At first I thought I'd better call a professional, but a plan of action came together. An extension ladder up against a neighboring tree gave me the height to wrap a strap at 20 feet. I attached a come-along line and another strap tied to a downhill poplar. I was able to bring the tree back to vertical and remove more material from the trunk. I tightened the line again and then walked away. Twenty minutes later, it came down just where I wanted it.

>50 2wonderY: Dang, you have been busy. Nice work on the tree. I think of Sycamore as evil in any case. The leaves don't compost, and (like black walnut) those leaves keep other plants from germinating, and from growing. They're also messy. I love my Crimson Maple, which currently has two bird's nests in it, and is beautiful.

Sorry about your mower.

>51 Lyndatrue: Yeah, I used that feature of the leaves from the last tree I removed. Used them to mulch along the edge of the yard where it dips into blackberry territory. It was lovely to not have to fight the weeds while the leaves lasted. Messy too - There were mature and fresh seed pods on the tree, so I'll have to watch for even more volunteers. The tree took out a small poplar and a locust as well, so the canopy has opened up quite a bit. There are itty-bitty maples volunteering underneath that I may let grow. The locusts are junk trees and freely and quickly reproduce. I prefer the poplars. There are two that are just the right distance for my hammock.

Sumac was the big buzz this weekend. Lots and lots of pollinators. For some reason these junk trees hang lower this season too, along the edges of fields. It's one of the species I'll be trimming back significantly once I buy a chipper.

>50 2wonderY: and so Ruth's Tree Service was born...

>53 fuzzi: Does Ruth's Tree Service travel to Texas? heh

>53 fuzzi: *snort*

>55 2wonderY: if you want to come to NC, I have some work for you...

:D

The blackberry season has begun. One SIL said last week that the commercial season is already over, that one of the blackberry festivals out midwest missed the season. All I know is that my fields are full of red berries with some swelling and turning to black jewels.

I bottled 5 quarts this morning without having to leave the edge of the yard.

My mower has decided not to start, and everything is overgrown. There has been A LOT of rain on the ridgetop. All is still drenched, though sunny today. My equipment shop no longer carries my brand or anything like my mower, so I'll have to shop elsewhere. I'm still body fatigued and sore from last week's move, so it's just as well. It'll wait. My right hand is still recovering from a deep bruising from a fall.

In fact, I may just go back out to the ridgetop and take a nap until evening when I'll go pick more berries.

New raspberry bed is full of new weeds from the manure I imported. The veg garden has lots of fruit to pick. So there are plenty of other tasks I can do this weekend.

Sigh. I wish there were more than one of me. Or that I was retired or independently wealthy.

How about retired AND independently wealthy? I could vote for that!

>57 2wonderY: I'm retired, and comfortable financially. It still doesn't seem to make me any younger.

;-}

Oh, but you said "blackberry" and I'd love to help with those. Mmmmmmmmm

A nap and then a blackberry picking expedition sounds like a plan!

And comfortably wealthy wouldn't be bad, either...

Twelve quarts done and a large bag of berries for cobbler. I could have picked more today, but I have further to drive home now, no longer stopping at daughter's house. Discovered a whole new bramble patch along the edge of the woods to the south, with thumb-sized berries draped over the pine trees. If you can force your way through the undergrowth, picking is a joy.

I've made a bucket belt, so that I can have two hands free for lifting canes and picking. My favorite containers in the field are these:



So I have a wide safety belt that I thread through two handles and snug it up tight. Perfect! When full, cap it.

The truly exciting bit this weekend - my peaches are ripe! I picked all 7 of them and ate one already. Sweet, freestone perfection. One of the ladies at work has an ice cream maker. I'm dreaming of peach ice cream...

>61 2wonderY: Fresh peaches, and blackberries; it sounds like heaven.

Love fresh home-grown fruit!

And my lunches this week have been bowls of chopped cuke, pepper and tomato from the garden.

Heatwave be damned, the blackberries need harvesting. Picked up granddaughter (nearly 10) and our goal was to bring lots back for baked goods.

Friday the heat was so oppressive we went into town till evening. We gathered a few quarts, but Ellie got discouraged and packed her bags. She resisted coming out to pick this morning, so I just told her where to find me if she changed her mind. She did come out and we found some beauties. But last week would have been the prime picking time. Lots of dried out berries and bare twigs. At 10am it was 90 degrees in the shade and we decided to call it a weekend.

It will be nice to get back into a pattern with the grands joining me.

>65 2wonderY: I hope the birds enjoy what you were unable to harvest.

It was mostly bugs. I really haven't seen birds eating the berries, which is curious.

We hauled a lot of tomatoes out of the garden and a few beans and cukes.
Granddaughter relishes tomatoes like a connoisseur.

I might have to begin a thread for daughter's new yard. Sunday it rained enough to tackle some of the weeds in what we assumed was rock-hard barren landscaping. She has no tools to speak of. Yet. She had to use a kitchen spoon to transplant a sapling volunteer. The beds along the front and side of the house contain a single rosebush and old mulch.

We removed sow thistle and crabgrass and bindweed.

In the shrub in the middle of the front yard, we pulled out massive amounts of nightshade and wintercreeper.

Their shaded back yard (sycamore and mulberry) has massive amounts of wintercreeper, so that no grass grows back there. Mulberry volunteers and wild grapevine infesting the fence line and some lilac bushes.

Several yucca plants, which I will transplant to KY for the edible blossoms. Daughter thinks they are ugly. I do too, but I'm willing to cultivate for their food value.

The streets of the city all have sad looking crabapple trees. Daughter's assignment is to ask the city for care instructions.

>67 2wonderY: I really *miss* my crabapple tree. They do need judicious pruning, and decent fertilizer. They are very heat and cold tolerant, but need watering, and will reflect anything
that approaches drought.

I'm not sure what wintercreeper is, but I'm grateful not to have it, thanks.

Love the line about no tools. Yet. :-}

Both she and her husband's enthusiasm for all things household related are so cute. Her husband has never been a DIY person. But he is now tracking down electrical systems and planning upgrades, has gotten advice about gutters/downspouts. He just beams thinking about the property being 'theirs.' Daughter is learning about architectural style and history.

>67 2wonderY: check out the thrift stores for used tools. I've gotten good spading forks and shovels, wheelbarrows, and more from yard sales, too.

>70 fuzzi: Right! I'm hoping they can find a used 8 foot folding ladder in good shape. That's one of the few items I'm not willing to transport for their convenience.

There is a booth that features all sorts of used tools, including gardening tools, that I always check out at the flea market mini mall.

Flea market?

:drool:

Well, another blackberry season is over. Gathered another couple of quarts, and that was it.

Much of the blackberry acreage has been smothered by Japanese honeysuckle. The areas I have freed of the scourge tend to stay clean, but it's a long haul project.

Killed me another copperhead.

>73 2wonderY: copperheads in populated areas need to go. If they stay in the woods, far away from me, I'm willing to be merciful.

In my garden is not acceptable.

>75 2wonderY: agreed!

I finally got back to the ridgetop for a work filled weekend, only to have my plans stymied by more car issues.

On the way down, Thursday evening, my check engine light came on. It happened a few weeks ago, and tightening the gas cap took care of it. This time it didn't, so I thought ... Hmm, fuel air mixture - maybe the air filter should be replaced. So I actually found where the silly thing is, and did replace it. Still not good enough. I am so grateful to have a mechanic here willing to fit me in. Their computer said it was the catalytic converter, but recommended doing a fuel system flush first. And they were able to do it in the lot, so we didn't have to wait around all day. Bless them. But that was the morning shot. Got some mowing done and picked a pile of beans.

Gosh that fresh manure was the ticket. I planted bush bean seeds in among the raspberry starts in the new bed. No fencing, so I knew I was providing the wildlife a treat. Sure enough, the bean plants were evenly trimmed to 10 inches tall. But within that 10 inches were a butt-load of beans. Some plants held enough for a meal. And they all are still producing blooms.

Today I began to put up siding on the left side of the half wall on the front. Remember last fall, I got most of the right side done. I've got good safety lines and I'm fastened off well, but can't lay anything down, as it slips right off the roof. I went until I ran out of insulation panels and ring shank nails. A trip to the hardware store is in order, but not this weekend. I may take a week off in September and knock it out.

>77 2wonderY: God bless you, and keep you safe: I hate heights, and could not see myself doing siding.

I hate car issues, but a good, honest mechanic is worth his weight in...books? ;)

I'm on the ridgetop this week, and pretty much hanging out on the roof. Got the left siding all done today. But I left the matting and the safety line up while I went into town to find one last item. On this side, the soffit was never installed properly. It sagged and even came loose. I had gotten up there a long time ago and tacked it up. But that was before I had my system in place. So I was able to fix it better in that spot. But guess what - there is a slope to it out at the end. I put my trim boards up level; leaving a growing gap above. The best solution I can think of is to use black pipe insulation. I will slice it to widths that will suit the gap. The black color will help it disappear and it will also discourage insect colonization.

I may get out on the other side tomorrow and finish the last three feet there, now that I'm comfortable and in a groove. Then I'll be able to put the windows back in. Nights have been 40s - 50s already.

The next ticket will be to purchase the front windows. Yay!

Also waded downslope and started taking down trees that are encroaching on my view. Finding new saw blades for my small bowsaw has been surprisingly difficult. But it sure makes a big difference.

And we have chestnuts!

The burrs have begun to open, and thus far, there is one full nut and two slender companions in each. I shook several branches. One burr had to be encouraged to open with a hammer, and the nuts were still at milk stage and not filled out.
I plan to come back in a week or so and harvest.
My neighbor has a tree planted at the same time. It has only one burr visible.

My last cedar panels are slightly bowed, so I need to buy a couple more and sand and stain them before finishing. So I'm done on the roof this season.

>80 2wonderY: glad the roof work is done, you worry me.

Picked another gallon of beans last week, but never have time to do anything with them. Daughter still had most of what I gave them last time.

So I'm feasting on them raw for lunch. Very healthy, yes? Even the sour cream I'm dipping them in. Hmmm.

>82 2wonderY: Sour cream is only bad if you are putting it on bad things. I now long for your green beans, though. Freshly picked string beans, lightly steamed, and with butter, are so very delicious.

Seriously, as long as it's real sour cream (I buy only Daisy, which has an ingredient list of one item), it's good for you. I promise. I wonder how long the drive to your house is...

Sour cream...ahhh...good with french fries!

Well, I missed the chestnut window. All of the burrs turned brown and fell. Rodents cleaned the nuts up pretty efficiently. I found one nut. I'll know next year that I can't allow a two week gap like that.

Daughter and SIL borrowed scaffolding, but didn't give me any opportunity to locate the hardware. So I'm cleaning piles and sorting stuff for disposal while keeping an eye out for the connectors and locks.

Beautiful weather.

Ordered a chipper/mulcher from Lowes which will be delivered by the end of the month. It's smaller than I had hoped (14 amp) but it'll give me a chance to learn how they operate and then shop for something a bit bigger.

The nuts went to a good home... ;)

Did manage to find a few chestnuts - enough to experiment - after raking the burrs and shaking down the tree one more time. We're getting some hickory nuts rolling into the office parking lot too.

I got very little done this weekend in the way of gardens and yard work. Began the process of expanding the vegetable garden, with cardboard and leaf mulch. When I tried mowing in the meadow, I pooped out quickly.
Sorted piles in house and shed, managing to dispose of a few things. Some of the areas are improved.

Mostly, I took time off and built a jigsaw puzzle. A 1000 piece Charles Wysocki. It was fun. An activity my dad and I shared many time in my youth.

>87 2wonderY: I love Wysocki's cats!

I love Wysocki's style! Looks like a fun one.

It was both fun and straightforward. Despite large areas of same colors, he puts an enormous amount of detail and variation in. I didn't see the teddy bear until I saw it's face smiling out at me from a tab.

Well, I guessed without Nate. Took the week off to get lots of outside work done, in a week that is historically sunny. I should know - both my children have their birthdays.

It rained yesterday, so I stopped at a Half-Price Bookstore on the way down and browsed for a while. It stormed very heavily all night, and looks to continue through tomorrow morning. When it's not raining, it's misting.

My new chipper mulcher is here and I want to play with it!

So I'll have to find a plan B till tomorrow.

Yay! It cleared this afternoon and I got to work. I put the chipper together, but haven't plugged it in yet.

Daughter has yucca plants in her new yard, which she doesn't like. I frankly agree. It's not a plant that I think is visually appealing. But ever since tasting the fleshy blossoms in a salad, I've decided it's something I could tolerate growing. These things have a serious taproot! We dug and dug through the sharp and pokey leaves. We finally took a reciprocating saw to it. Don't know whether it will survive the rough treatment, but did put it in the ground.

Spent the afternoon doing general gardening clean up.

>92 2wonderY: Yucca? I associate those with southwestern deserts; I've seen a few around here, but I'm sure they were transplants.

Far as I know, the tap root goes down about a mile...okay, maybe not a mile, but they *do* run deep. They're pretty hard to kill. I'd suggest digging out where you dug up the one from your daughter's yard, and putting a flagstone over the top of the remaining root, and then putting the dirt back. Yeah, not kidding.

Of course, you *are* way outside of its native area, so it may stay gone from your daughter's house. I'm sure the one you put in the ground at your house will be fine; remember it doesn't want too much water. They're a pretty easy plant, once you get going.

>92 2wonderY: I had some killer yucca fries this weekend. I think yucca might be better than potato fries!

>94 lesmel: From the root? After our experiment, I can't see harvesting this root. Major equipment needed.

I woke at my normal 5AM, and sat around drinking tea for three hours before it was light enough to work outside. Expanding the main veggie garden in the meadow by over 100 square feet, including a permanent pathway.

Some heavy work items, and then I disturbed a nest of ground bees. Got stung in the butt before I even realized what was up.
Kept going for a while and then took a long nap, and then a trip to Lowes for a few pieces of timber. Oops, I meant to buy some Raid, so I can safely finish my project.

Cleaned out the beds behind the house and there a still a few strawberries, but they are sickly. Will try again with a better nibbler guard next year.

Gathering up more volunteer asparagus starts. I always find them in shady spots, though they are supposed to like sun. Two beds are now beginning to look good. I have yet to harvest any.

Love asparagus! When it's ready to harvest, let me know, I'll come help...

>95 2wonderY: I'm gonna guess yucca and yuca are actually different...since yuca = cassava and looks like a stretched out potato with weirder skin. Ah HA! In the Americas, it’s important to not get “yuca” mixed up with “yucca”. They’re totally unrelated species. One is a desert plant in the agave family and one is the root crop cassava. http://survivalgardener.com/yuca/

Ok. So. I revise my statement. I had some killer YUCA fries this weekend. I think YUCA might be better than potato fries!

Heh.

Snort! Gardeners and their vegetable obsessions...

I go to sleep out here much earlier than I do in town. Last night that meant I was done with my first sleep before midnight, and was ready to get up a bit after 3 am. I did, but went back to bed for the best morning sleep, waking later than usual.
I still got grunt work done. I had started a compost pile at the north edge of the property way back before I knew better. My garden development is in the south meadow. So I spent the day digging this pile out and transferring the contents to the new garden. As I've mentioned already, I am no longer making a separate compost pile.
Also cleared two brush piles, paying attention to possible snakes (only saw a little ring necked snake) and mulching the branches and building up the raspberry bed. Lord, the combination of manure and beans in the bed is a clear winner! The plants are already bearing large yummy jewels.

Fuzzi, I told daughter about the asparagus - She'll be there in front of you.

I've got to close up shop tomorrow, as I'm meeting an old friend in Pittsburgh this weekend. So, whatever I get done tomorrow morning is it for the week. Need to schedule another work week in a few weeks.

It's leafing time!

I caught a neighbor putting a small mountain of bagged leaves at the curb and saved three car-loads to be carried out to my gardens over the next few months.

>99 2wonderY: good for you! I have a neighbor who bags his leaves and puts them by the curb, knowing I'll come get them. It would be even better if there weren't so many pine cones and pine straw mixed in.

>100 fuzzi: Did you wave to my ridgetop as you drove by? See, now you know the way for blackberry picking season!

I did! I saw the sign you mentioned as we drove down I-64.

I'll probably add a couple pictures to my main thread, later. :)

I'm headed out to Kentucky this weekend and I've got next week off. Yay! The weather should cooperate, at least not being too cold. It'll be cloudy and possibly drizzly.

I didn't get as much work done at the office as I'd hoped. We came in yesterday to find the entire county blacked out. I nearly missed my exit, as my 6AM cue is the businesses that line the exchange. It was very odd trying to find our way around in the very pitch dark. An added appreciation of the issues the Puerto Ricans are dealing with on a continuing basis nowadays.

Ah well, the work will still be here for me when I return.

I've got lots of leaf bags to stuff in the van for my gardens.

My trip keeps being delayed for one reason after another - all self-imposed. Torrential rains last night. I may wait till the weekend.

We've not had the torrential rains, must have passed north of us. Yesterday was a "meh" kind of day, overcast and slightly sprinkly.

We've got freezing rain today. Part of the reason I'm staying home is my car heater blower died. Parts will be in Thursday, repairs on Friday.

I'm being useful at home; have taken several loads to Goodwill and recycling. Some rooms are more navigable.

>106 2wonderY: ew, hate freezing rain.

No defroster stinks. My son drove a car for about a year in which the heater/defroster had died. He only had issues a couple times due to our lack of real winter weather.

Car repair wasn't needed. It was a panel setting. Duh.

The city has a lot where they pile street sweepings and leaves. I caught a truck driver there today who told me the lot will be cleared next week and sold. This may be my last chance to collect this valuable resource. So that's what I'm doing tomorrow. Children both have other plans. We'll get together in a week or so.

>108 2wonderY: will you just take the leaves? I'd be leery of what was swept up from the street.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's 991/2% leaves. And already disintegrating and composting. There is the occasional soda lid and cigarette butt, but nothing gross. I managed 5 or six trips. My car holds 90 gallons in buckets and then black trash bags thrown on top of that. Collecting is the easy part. Preparing where to lay the mulch is the tedious and wearying part. I spent one day clearing honeysuckle and other pests from the downslope blackberry patch. My hands are a wreck because I don't wear gloves. I lost my clippers again, but found them, thankfully not under the mulch.

I spent another day and a half ridding a garden of the raspberries I had put there temporarily, moving them into the permanent beds.

It was a very productive week. My body is feeling more fit than ever. Too bad I had to return to work today.

I'm thinking that my next vehicle may be a small truck.

>110 2wonderY: whew! I'm tired just reading about what you accomplished.

Small trucks are hard to find. My dh has a 1987 Mighty Max which he has loved, but doesn't use much anymore except for short runs around town, as he prefers his 2005 Tundra, which is more reliable.

My legs, in particular, are not happy about returning to the work desk. The muscles loved being more active, and they are begging for more exercise. Middle of the night they want me to get up and stretch them this way and that.

Daughter just sent me a post that Jill Barklem died last month. Her wonderful illustrations in the Brambly Hedge collection are what inspired the name of my place.

>113 2wonderY: so young! Only 64...

Ah, leaves. Mine are currently under snow. The goal was to tidy the front of the house but find places for all the leaves without piling them in the street. I found a pupa of I'd guess a moth, which I moved to a spot where I hope I can find it again in the spring. More leaves than takers in this neighborhood, but I've seen a few people collecting from the street.

>115 qebo: so nice to see you!

Oh! I’ve acquired a pair of friendly guppies. Will they survive not being fed for three days so I can go to Kentucky?

Your pet shop should have a variety of ways of dealing with this. It's been a long time, but I recall both food balls that dissolve slowly and floating feeders that release food daily.

https://m.wikihow.com/Feed-Guppies says that for less than a week they should be OK.

They have been getting fatter; and I feed them only the tiniest amount possible.

I had tried to save the pond plants from winter death and placed chunks in deep glass bowls. It’s obvious now I brought them in too late, but the roots are very green with a secondary growth and a random seed has spouted from the crown. It looked like a neat environment for some tiny fish, so I just had to try it out

>117 2wonderY: guppies survive just about anything. Most freshwater fish can handle being without food for several days, even a week or more. You're better off underfeeding most fish than overfeeding.

I’ll try. But they are so cute when they beg - which is all the time.

Continued in the 2018 thread.