In the event that gardening is possible this year...

So? It's like snowing right now? And sticking? I'm trying not to be upset by this, but I would like to remind you we live in Indiana, and not Central New York.

A few weeks ago as we were enjoying a fire in the wood stove after many days of not having any wood (because we ran out, for the third time), just before we had our propane tank filled for the second time this year, Bill suggested we really, really enjoy the fire because we would be missing it come July when it was still cold and there was no wood left in the world. And then we started talking about Ice Ages and how the last one may have popped into being in just six months, rather than over the course of years. Comforting.

In the event that we actually do have a summer again in our lifetime, I have started some seeds: tomato, pepper, eggplant and herbs. I'm using a soil blocker that we purchased for about $30 from Johnny's Seeds. It was easy to use, is a one-time purchase and there is nothing to throw away. It did take a little more time than filling peat pots, but not much. It was also dirtier, but I consider that a plus.

I used Pro-Mix potting soil, which I purchased at a home improvement store. I mixed the soil with a lot of water (much more than the "recipe" that came with the soil blocker suggested), until it was like peanut butter. Then, I made a big mud pie and pressed the soil blocker down over it until I could see water - dirt water! - seeping through the top of the blocker. I then moved to the tray and pushed on the handle allowing the blocks to gently drop out. Ta da!

The blocks have held up well so far. I mostly water by misting with a spray bottle, but also by pouring water on top. I've even had to transfer some blocks from one tray to another and they did fine. There was a little bit of crumbling, but nothing tragic.

The lights are a broad spectrum LED, which the plants seem to enjoy.

We bought very few seeds this year. All of our tomatoes and peppers are from seeds that were either left over from last year or seeds that we saved ourselves from plants we grew. Some of the seeds are now on their third generation, meaning we bought the seeds in 2012, grew the plants and saved the seeds, grew plants from those saved seeds in 2013 and saved new seed from them in the fall and have planted them for use this year. So far, the seeds I've saved have grown the fastest and biggest. It's my own version of natural selection - the stuff that grows well in our soil under my management practices gets saved and will hopefully continue to get better. I LOVE IT!

Spring!

I have many posts in my head for you about bathrooms and spring and knitting. But, until they are actually written, here are some teasers.

The lilac leaves are new as of today. The sheep and goats are glad to be eating the grass that's just started growing in earnest as well.

White Groundhog Day

We woke up to 7 unexpected inches of snow. This is especially weird because before this winter, I don't think we've had much more than 7 total inches of snow any winter that we've lived here.

Here's our propane tank, which is thankfully holding propane. We had it filled just before the first blast of cold and before propane tripled in price.

And here's some snow. It is oddly sideways everywhere. There is 4 inches of snow sticking off the side of every tree branch and sturdy weed around. How does that happen?

Proof of deepness:

My fingers are delighted that gloves are not necessary today with the temperature being an entire 25F on the plus side, rather than 25F on the negative.

'Til next time...

Ha ha...my doggie is covered in snow

She thinks I am a terrible blogger and promises to force me to write real posts soon.

Animals in the snow

The sheep, apparently, don't mind the snow. In fact, Clara rather likes eating it.

The goats want nothing to do with it.

The people avoid it by sitting near the fire, playing board games and drinking homebrew.

Oh the weather outside....

...is creepy. We are currently in a high risk area for tornadoes today. This means there is a 30% chance there will be a tornado within 25 miles of any given location within the high risk area. We are also warned that there may be 50 mph winds outside of the main storm and hail.

Fortunately, we are prepared. We've got water and blankets and flashlights, batteries, storm radios... in the basement and all the animals are locked  up for the day. Last week Bill also cleaned out the garage, so our cars are actually in it for the first time since we moved in. This, we hope, protects them from hail and falling branches.
 

Also last week, Bill replaced a very broken pane in a living room window.

All the storm windows are shut, the kerosene lamps are full of oil and we are snuggled in for an afternoon of game playing and weather alert listening.

Frosty Fall Morning

Lots of work was done around here this week, and I was going to tell you all about the wood hauling, garage cleaning and beer making (and smoke detector battery changing - change your batteries when you change  your clocks!), but when I went out to wake up the animals this morning everything was frosty and foggy. I thought you'd like to see that more than you'd like to see piles of wood, or de-walnut-shell-ified garage floors.

Martha, being dignified:

Rose has recently decided that people aren't all that bad and she'll now eat grain from  my hand, chew on my coat, and stare at me as if to say "why is there no grain in your hand?"

Kaylee started climbing on the straw bales again this week. Her ability to reliably climb was the last sign we were waiting to see for her full recovery. She's still a bit smaller than Saffron, but watching her jump on top of the Barn Mountain warms my heart.

Group shot! Everyone says "Good Morning."

"Now, feed us grain, Woman!"

The Missing "s" Game. AKA, the post with an anti-lisp and no understanding of plurals.

(The "s" key is no longer working on my keyboard, so I'm pasting it in this intro for your information. I may leave it out a bunch in the post below because it is slowing me down. If a word doesn't make sense, check to see if it is missing an "s." I know you can do it! I've seen how some of you text.)

I learned in Herpetology that if you drop a frog into really hot water, it will realize omething i wrong and jump out, but if you drop it into temperate water which you lowly heat up, you can boil the frog and it won't realize it i dying. Along thee line but in revere, Bill and I often pend many night hivering before we realize it i time to turn on the heat. But, ometimes in Autumn we take a trip and come back to coldness, giving u a clear indication that it i time to make fire. Thi wa one of thoe year. There i a firing burning a I hare the photo with you.

Thi pat weekend we went to Rhinebeck for the NY heep and Wool Fetival. It i the firt year where I've known lot of fetival-goer and had a great time meeting o many lovely, happy knitter.

Of coure, I bought tuff too.

There i ome ock yarn in there and a few kein of heavier-weight longwool for hat. (Now that miing "s" i uddenly noticeable, eh?)

My firt top wa at Into the Whirled for pinning fiber. When I wa holding it all in my hand, thi pound felt like a lot, but now that I'm far away from a purchaing opportunity, it doe't eem like enough.

I alo picked up a fancy pindle. I've been practicing on a "tudent pindle" which i large and brutish. My new one i a Bosworth made of Red Cedar. 17g/.6 ounce. In ampling, I can tell that it i more refined and allow me to pin much finer yarn. I like it. It make me feel more dainty.

It wa a good trip!

The farm in Early June

I have these visions of monthly updates showing the progress of very specific things, like the gardens and animals...but the follow-through has been lacking. But, I'm willing to try again if you are. It's not very exciting in the beginning (a lot of photos are for reference), but there is some serious cuteness at the end.

Here is the state of the farm on June 6, 2013. It's been amazingly temperate and appropriatly rainy. After a few hot summers in a row we are very glad! It was like this the first year we lived in this house and we have fond memories of a friendly summer.

The kitchen garden currently has a mostly-finished drip irrigation system, tomatoes, peppers and 4 eggplants.

Over on this side are mounds of winter and summer squash, plus a few melons.

This time last year, the black caps were nearly done but today they are still very green. This is more consistent with 2009 when we picked two jars full in late June...except this year we have about 100x more plants as we stopped mowing much of the property and the black caps have taken over. These are our cultivated ones with some netting to protect them. Suck it, songbirds!

Our pasture is green! There is a haystack in the middle of hay Bill scythed earlier this week. This is the first year that we're farming grass.

Cauliflower and beets (background).

Carrots:

Dent corn:

\

Pumpkin patch.

Oymygosh this is so boring!! How about some Martha and Rose to make it more interesting?

Kaylee and Saffron in perspective with some really tall (and yummy) thistle.

Kaylee and her ears.

Saffron chewing on my finger...

...and being a snuggle goat.

This chicken and the two turkey hens are co-parenting four chicken babies. It's odd, but seems to be working.

This chick was born yesterday. The knitted one was completed today.

That's it! Maybe I'll be back with a review of how all this stuff is growing in July. Well, not the knitted chicken obviously...but the other stuff.