Brambly Ridge 2018 - here's hoping for a productive and joyful year

Last year's thread.

Let's see, last year was interrupted in the middle with moving daughter and family to Cincinnati. There shouldn't be anything of that magnitude on the calendar this year.

I am expecting another grandbaby, so that'll bring some friends and family down to hang out and celebrate.

Both daughters now live 4 hours from me, but two hours apart themselves. That complicates my weekend travels, as it's difficult to visit both in one sweep. I managed it this past long weekend, but it leaves less time to be on the ridgetop. It might make it better for getting the grands out there with me, if we can arrange pick-ups in Lexington.

I spent Saturday night on the ridgetop. It was chilly. Couldn't budge the thermometer past 44 degrees. My kerosene heater appears to need some servicing, as it's not burning evenly. It's not unsafe, but probably needs a new mantle.

But the sun was out and I didn't need a jacket Sunday tromping the fields and woods.

Planting a content-free comment here so I don't lose track of you. :-)

Starred!

I've been going through torment the last several months. My neighbor, Joe, announced that his ex-SIL was building a house just beyond mine. My 5 acres sits in the middle of the farm, but all that has ever been beyond me is a storage shed, a chicken coop and an apple orchard; way at the end of the driveway.

They started excavating, and it appeared the new house would be in direct line of sight from mine. With no way to screen it. I was totally bummed. I started looking for other property to purchase. I couldn't make myself go back out there.

Well, I did go out several weeks ago, but ended up staying in town trying to get a car issue resolved. So no conversations, no mowing done.

I always spend the week of my birthday out there, but I found every excuse to delay. Finally got there last evening. I was so happy to discover that the compact cabin (pre-built) has been sited on the other side of the drive, nestled into the trees. I can't see it.

I met the lady whose project this is today. Her name is Jody. I like her!

She agreed to bury the electric service line so it will not mar my view. I will pay her a nominal fee to do it.
The other issue dear to my heart is dark skies. I asked if she planned a security light. She said, "Yes, of course."
When I explained how much that would bother me, she thought about it for an hour or so, and then told me she will modify her lighting plans. WHEW!

She seems to be the mover/shaker in this family group. She's also got plans for a house for her sister, a greenhouse for Joe, and a wood-working workshop for herself. But nothing in my line of sight! She's sculpting the property, and already she has enhanced the beauty of the spot.

Grass was knee high in the yard and armpit high in the meadow. I started mowing as soon as the dew began dissipating, and the bulk of the yard is done. It sprinkled, so the meadow has got to wait.

I decided to take a break and come into town, perhaps see if there are any peach trees to be had. My solitary peach tree blossomed, but set no fruit. The variety claimed it didn't need cross pollination. Don't know if that is true or false or if the early bloom during the wet season kept pollinators from their task.

Friends and a sister are coming into town this next weekend for the baby shower. I'd like the place to look good. Sister Pat has never been there.

Feeling a whole lot better about these changes.

Oh, and before it was dry enough to mow, I worked in the flower beds. Haven't put in any veggies yet. My trifoliate orange tree shot up to almost two feet.

I spent a lot of effort last year freeing blackberries from honeysuckle and mulching. They are rewarding me with a full mantle of white blossoms.

The pink Showy Primrose that I've tried multiple times to naturalize appears to be pretty happy. For something that others have the best results, I've had to work hard on this one.

The roses are looking wonderful too.

The oak leaf hydrangea is huge.

>4 2wonderY: and >5 2wonderY: I'm happy for good endings, and even happier to see that you're having a bit of joy on the Ridge.

Not necessarily an ending, but at least a pause.

Clouds and rain moved in , so spent the day inside doing my spring cleaning.

Blocking the sash channels of the windows last fall made a significant dent in the numbers of early spring fly and ladybug swarms. But the remaining numbers need to be vacuumed up and the windows washed.

It's also time to make piles of materials no longer needed.

Got the kitchen spic and span, ready for blackberry season.

Taking a friend out to dinner this evening to celebrate my 64th birthday. Daughter can't today; she has birthing class. She's on my calendar for tomorrow.

>4 2wonderY: so glad it wasn't as bad as you originally thought.

>7 2wonderY: happy birthday! It's a good month for them: my mother was born on May 9th, son on May 15th, grandmother's was May 17th, daughter of a good friend had one on May 19th, and a new friend's birthday is tomorrow!

>4 2wonderY: That's a lotta drawn out worry compressed into a few sentences! Glad your new neighbor is considerate.

Friday, and the sun is still shining. The weather forecast called for rain, so I mostly finished up the meadow last evening. There is always a little bit left to do, but I was proud of me and my machine. I mowed around the huge thistle plants. I will let them seed and hope the goldfinches come and feast as they did a couple years ago.

I pulled my chipper/shredder out this morning and got rid of the brush pile.

Peach tree bloomed, but did not set fruit. Very disappointed. Went looking for a companion, but struck out. Contender is supposed to be self fertile, but it was cool and wet during bloom. I wondered whether the right pollinators weren't out yet.

Company coming tomorrow, so gotta grocery shop and start making food.

>10 2wonderY: It is very likely that pollinators are the issue, with your peach tree. I worry about all my pollinators, taking care not to use anything that will harm them. I'm even careful with the wasps, nowadays. Each time a see a bumblebee, or recognize a smaller bee as a wild one, my heart gives a little leap of joy.

It may be that putting in a companion will help, though, since two trees may be a stronger draw than one. My mother used to use a cotton q-tip to fertilize things when she thought that bees weren't doing enough. That even included her cherry tree. That's a lot more work than I'd go to, myself, but you might try it next year, just to see if it makes a difference.

>11 Lyndatrue: I may q-tip next year.

My neighbor took out their chestnut tree, so I'm wondering whether mine will now produce nuts. It had just begun producing full nuts last year.

I bought a few tomatoes and sage plants and another rose bush. But I got caught up with baby shower preparations and clean-up. So the plants didn't get put in the ground, and the promised rain didn't materialize. So I packed them up and carried them back to WV. I may put them in my yard there.

Baby watch this week. Rose is all belly.

I'm on the ridgetop starting blackberry harvest. I've spent less time up there than normal, so I'm still forging paths through the overgrowth to the berry bushes. One particularly good spot lost all the pines sheltering it. They provided a framework for the canes; and now the canes are snaking through the weeds instead.
Honeysuckle smothered another good patch. The areas I spent time cleaning up and mulching last year are a joy to work in. Thumb sized berries.

I've got 7 quarts of cordial put up. Oddly, the first bottle of alcohol I used says that it is gin. I hadn't even looked, because I thought they were all vodka. I wonder how that will affect the taste. I don't drink either gin or vodka. Opinions?

Spent the whole morning in the woods and the brambles. After refreshing myself at lunch, I came into town. The sky started clouding up and a torrential downpour continues. That blows any outdoor tasks for this evening.

The gin could be interesting. Vodka is fairly neutral in taste, but gin has various 'botanicals' in it, with juniper predominating.

I re-canted two quarts, removing the gin and adding vodka. It was amazing how much the color and presumably the flavor had already been pulled from the fruit. So I added fresh berries as well. Daughter likes gin, so I will gift her.

She is still preggers. I have to get back to work next week. This baby needs to get it in gear. She's a week past due.

Berry picking has been at it's peak the last couple of days. The canes are practically leafless at this point and I carry clippers to cut them back right away, to save on the brambles problem. Several best patches have been covered completely with honeysuckle, but clipping those away, there are still riches underneath. I will try to mow sections this fall to get more control.

New neighbor is putting septic system in today, so I escaped to town. Lots of truck and heavy vehicle traffic up the drive.

I went shopping for a storage building. They are less costly than I assumed. The pole building I've been relying on will probably collapse next winter.

Still working on cleaning out old piles. Found my circular saw. Found my work belt. Making piles for distribution. Ah! Floor space!

ps: Grey Treefrog was hanging out on one of the stems I clipped that went 8 ft into the tree line. These guys are cool, calm, and allow face to face time.

>15 2wonderY: She'll have to wait a bit for that gin, in any case. I was pregnant for 10 months and three days, but who's counting, right? Is this your daughter's first? We always used to say that the first ones could arrive at any time, but the others always took the standard nine months. :-}

She does have my sympathy. You too.

I wish I was there for your blackberry harvest, even though I'm not very helpful in picking (I can eat an astonishing amount of blackberries).

I do love your brambly ridge entries.

You've really got me wanting blackberry gin. I have looked around and found lots of recipes on line.
-with a cinnamon stick for warm winter drinks
-with a bay leaf. Hmm. I have a big bay plant.
-mixed hedgerow fruits
-with both blackberries and blueberries.
-adding basil for the last few days of infusing

The last two don't add sugar. I'm drinking away at a batch of rhubarb gin (aka pink gin) I made in the spring that is simply too sweet, but otherwise pretty good, so I'm wondering how important the sugar is.

I'll be buying fruit this morning, so might just add some to the bottle of gin in the cupboard. But what else to put in?

BTW, the rhubarb pieces in the gin are great, too. Sort of cooked by alcohol.

OK, did it. http://www.librarything.com/topic/286274#6527070

I added a bit of pure alcohol to each bottle because I figure the berries lower the alcohol quite a bit, and I didn't use sugar.

>16 Lyndatrue: Yes, first baby. She wouldn't even put a taste of the gin on her tongue. That's too compulsive in my opinion.
I wish you were here too! I'd put you to work.

>17 MarthaJeanne: Let's experiment! **rubs hands together** I like your thought of serving warm versions in the winter time.

I had to leave yesterday just as the canes were beginning to produce fully. I was grabbing handfuls of ripe berries and had to finally put mental blinders on because I HAD to get on the road. Some canes are 12 feet long with side branching. You have to lift the thing and work your way up or down the main stem. The productivity is amazing.

>18 2wonderY: I cannot tell a lie, it wasn't my idea, it was the idea of whichever site added a cinnamon stick to the blackberry gin.

I want to learn more about blackberry varieties, growth and management. Something scholarly, not commercial. Not having a lot of success searching. As I harvest, I notice huge differences in type, growth habit, ripening patterns, preferred micro-habitat, fruit size, etc. I want to know which canes are best to cut back in the first (vegetative) year. I need to learn how to battle the honeysuckle and briars more effectively. Questions, questions!

Daughter saw the midwife this morning. Baby is still growing and active, but appears to like where she is too well. Planning to induce labor Thursday morning if no progress before then. Rose isn't getting much sleep, and her energy reserves are being drained.

Yes, it's rough just waiting past the due date, and doubly hard in summer heat. But induced labour isn't much fun either. Wishing her all the best, and a speedy start on the next stage of not getting enough sleep.

Yes. I am praying she sleeps well tonight and has a natural start to her labor.

Baby Theia Wren fought for a day and a half to stay where she was all cozy comfortable. Labor was started with Pitocin Friday morning but went slowly to 3 cm and stalled. The midwives seem to have been very adept at using the tools available to help Rose recover her energy for periodic work. Friday night a great storm arose in Lexington, with huge old trees felled and power interrupted for 60,000 people. (We believe Theia was responsible.) She crowned at 7:30 am, was born at 9:31. 9.5 pounds. Of course she's an amazing baby, already making eye contact with mom and dad and lifting her head. Papa says her full name is 'Theia daddy's beautiful little girl.'

When disturbed she howls and her entire body flushes red. And then she's fine. It's awfully cute.

Welcome Theia and congratulations to all!

Congratulations to everyone, and deep sympathy to the mother (nine and a half pounds is a big baby). Theia Wren is a beautiful name, too. Happiness and joy to all!

4.3 kg, yes, a big baby. High time she came out. (Probably had to finish her book first. At least that's what my parents decided had kept me.)

What an excellent baby to have! Yay!

I'm not supposed to post pictures on social media, though parents did so this morning... how could they resist, eh?

Babies are supposed to be cooed over.

You can find her in my member gallery.

>28 2wonderY: She's beautiful, but then, you knew that already. :-}

Definitely worth the wait.

Oh, how lovely! I like her name too.

>23 2wonderY:, >28 2wonderY:, She is lovely, congratulations!

All babies are wonderful and beautiful. It's also wonderful to see daughter, who has never been a baby-person, fall so utterly in love. I'm hoping she makes the connection eventually to understand and appreciate how I feel about her.

Other daughter accompanied me to KY the weekend, and we stayed at my cabin. She usually stays in town, so this was a new experience for her. (Also, unusual for her not to have any of her own kids along.) She loved it, at first. She got cranky the second day for lack of shower facilities. We managed an hour Sunday morning to harvest the last of the blackberries, putting up 3 more quarts. The berries were beginning to be less palatable, either too ripe and soft or too ripe and full of seed. So cordial was the only way to process them.

So the week before Theia's birthday appears to be the best harvest period. Noted and scheduled on the calendar.

>23 2wonderY: congratulations!!!

>26 MarthaJeanne: hahaha, good one.

I'm still on the lookout for other property, but trying to move ahead on the ridgetop.

First the neighbor news. Joe and Jody are feuding. He now tells her she can't put in a water line across brother Rick's property. Joe has been trying to stir up problems between Jody and me. He told her I said she could no longer borrow electricity from me. He told her I messed with her electric cable entry. He's telling each of us different stories about driveway maintenance. The driveway is a muddy mess. Jody told me she had gravel coming last week that Joe refused to let her pour. I will try to stay out of it. I do have her phone number now so we can check with each other.

My storage shed has been just a three sided open affair that Rick built from scrounged and rough materials. It has been deteriorating, with insects in the wood and metal falling off the sides. I had hoped SIL would build a new one for me, but he is completely uninterested. So I finally ordered a pre-fab shed and it was delivered Monday. Since my address doesn't google well, I met the driver at the sales lot and watched how he picks up the sheds. I had tried to take out a young locust tree to make better room, but had lost steam. He and his helper took it out with a sawzall quickly. (I tipped them for doing that.) He finessed it into the awkward spot I chose, (only awkward because of the tight cornering from the driveway) and leveled it up. This was his last delivery of the day, so I had only an hour or so of light to start moving stuff in. There is a wide distance between the two sheds, so there was lots of hauling across the yard and filling the van repeatedly yesterday.

The new shed is on enough of a slope that I get some bonus storage under the rear. I laid scrap roofing strips (remember the roof replacement on the house?) underneath to block brush from growing and to give a good place to store lumber.

I had to return to work today. So I stopped to cuddle Theia for a bit before getting back on the road. Nathan's working on a feeding schedule that allows Rose to nurse her as soon as she gets home, so distraction was the rule. She tried to be cranky, but she miraculously perked up with smiles when I laid her on the changing table. Apparently, she associates that spot with fun and games.

>35 2wonderY: My heart goes out to you, and to poor Jody, and I will just do my very best to send thoughts about things smoothing out, and life being more pleasant.

Luckily, you have the world's best antidote for such things. Be sure to give Theia an extra hug for the rest of us, next time you see her.

>35 2wonderY: I would love to see what the homestead is looking like now. In my mind I recall your threads from a couple years ago.

I hope your neighbor(s) stop acting like immature brats and grow up.

I got an email from the new neighbor today. She wants to sell out and move on. Sadly, she wants to re-coup all the money she's put into it - over $30,000 at this point. All for 1 acre more and ground that has been tortured. Oh, and an unfinished house that is in danger of sliding down the hill.

>38 2wonderY: Jody?

It would be nice if you could buy more of a bufferzone around your property.

Yes, Jody.

I would love to do that, but not at that cost.

It's been a super-busy two months since I last visited the ridgetop. Work crunch and family obligations.

Since I'm furloughed, I had time to run out there this week to check on things. Neighbor is still excavating as if something else will be added, but I saw no one.

I spent a day cutting thistle and burning it. I let it get away from me in the meadow and had a crop 8 feet tall. Also moved more wood from the old shed. As I removed a board leaning against the side wall, the wall itself lurched slightly. This action comes just in time, eh.

I worked through a rain shower. Nights are still cold, and I don't have a functioning kerosene heater at present, so spent only one night.

Daughter is eager for me to hang out with her and Theia, so I grabbed the invitation. Theia is an incredibly high maintenance baby. And I'm so impressed with Rose's love and patience. It just pours out of her. Theia squalled and screamed for a couple of hours, only diverted for moments at a time. She's beginning teething. She loves having her gums rubbed.
I finally got on the road home so Rose could concentrate on soothing her.

May go back down next week depending on the government and the weather.

Few posts in the last year. Here's hoping there is more good to report in the coming year.

And HERE is where it starts.