New Welcomes

I've gained a few new followers that I'd like to welcome aboard.

Nick from Along These Lines just hit the button today. Looks like he has an interesting blog writing articles & interviewing a wide range of subjects.

Also, Monique from The Mutlifaceted Matron decided to follow as well. She writes that she is a spoiled Sheep Farmer's wife. Looks like she has most of the same interests as most of us here.

And, last but certainly not least ... Gail from At The Farm. She writes beautiful poetry while juggling many of life's curve balls & shares what is in her heart.

Thank you all for joining me on my journey!

The Driveway - Part 2 (picture heavy)

Here's a very bad picture (I can't figure out how to save a pic for download from Google Maps) of the whole plot (the rectangle in the middle of the picture). Our property & house is in the lower left. The red line shows the route down the dirt road & across BPC's field. The yellow line shows coming in from my Dad's gate & across the pond dam. And the green line shows the new driveway, pretty much a straight shot in. Note: This will be a good reference to determine how often Google snaps pictures from space. This shot has the deck & dock we put in just last year (2012).

After we agreed w/the family friend, we walked the property & they decided on what equipment would be needed & an approximate timeline (2-3 weeks at the most).

Tractor w/grappling hook

Backhoe for small stuff along the fence line

Excavator for the serious stuff

Here are the before pictures from each end:

Before - from the road

Before - from the house

They started clearing. And, as stated before, it then rained for 40 day & 40 nights (well, it was actually about 10 days & nights, but it felt like 40). It got real muddy & they had to stop for awhile. It rained over 9.5 inches in just a few days. The pond, even though it has a drain & a pretty high damn, overflowed. Normally the drain carries water to the branch but the overflow went through there as well.

Slowly, but surely they cleared away the trees & brush.

They made great progress the first couple of days, before it was time to grade. It started raining the week after the initial clearing & work pretty much stopped until March & then it was off & on through April. 

Here it is, finally graded, leveled & dirt added, lots & lots of dirt.

Through the branch looking from house side.

From road, those ruts are just from a golf cart.

They finally finished clearing & grating & adding dirt but it was very soft & squishy in places. In that last picture above, it had not rained for several days & it was still too soft. So, we kept spending money like we actually had it & decided to put rock on top.. 

Through the branch looking towards the house.

Through the branch looking back towards road.

From near the road looking down towards the branch/house.

From the road. That stick is there to tie caution tape across until we can get a gate put in.

I guess we were kind of lucky in that we were able to see it at it's worst & the guys building the drive knew just how high & how much dirt to haul in. We wound up with one culvert at the road to get over the ditch but they put in 2 in the branch area just to be safe.

In the end, we love it! Even though we didn't want to spend the money, the peace of mind in knowing that we aren't dependent on some control freak to allow or block access, is priceless! Plus:

- We get to turn into the driveway off the hard (paved) road. No more getting vehicles covered in clay!

- We have more of a defined area to landscape & fence off.

- We get to drive through a wooded area! It's beautiful & cool in that section. I hope to be able to cultivate some mushrooms in that cool dark area in the future.

- It's a lot smoother than either way we were coming in.

- We don't have to be uber nice to someone we didn't really care for in the first place. We'll wave when going down the road but there will be no invites for dinner or otherwise.

- MIL & FIL don't have to put up with weird people. Well not that one, at least.

Next, we have to put up a gate & eventually a new, matching fence across the front of the property to my Dad's gate to coordinate it all. You know, I have to have it neat.

Note: We started on February 8 & it was finished May 10th. A 2-3 week job that took 3 months!

The Driveway - Part 1

Or, as Justin keeps calling it .... the million dollar 1/2 mile. It feels like we've spent that much, but not quite.

For those that don't know the story, our Country House is located on about 9 acres of a 50 acre plot. The back 1/2 of the plot is where the 4 acre spring fed pond is and it's where my Dad has his house & we have ours, on each side of the pond. So,we are at the back left of the plot if you come in from the front side where my Dad's driveway is. If we were to drive that way each time it meant coming up the meandering drive then driving over the pond dam & then up the hill (relatively speaking) to our house. It's a long bumpy 2/3 mile drive. There are many low spots along the way to get stuck if it has been raining any length of time. Which is exactly what it has been doing the past 2 months & we've gotten stuck a couple of times due to having heavy loads on our trailer. We would have to call someone, usually one of my many cousins in the area, they would have to come & get my Dad's tractor & pull us out. It . is . a  . pain for us & them.

When we originally built the house my Dad's cousin, who has property adjacent to ours told us we could use his driveway to access our house. This meant that we could drive a clay road & go through his gate (rusty & not in very good shape & then through ours). That was fine as long as he had his gate open.

You see, this particular cousin is bi-polar & if his wife ever goes out of town he goes off his meds & does some really strange stuff. Much of the time it includes him closing that rusty gate & locking it so we couldn't get in that way. Plus, he never told us ahead of time that he was going to lock it. Probably because he was is la la land & couldn't find our phone # if his life depended on it. (Note: He's a rich old country boy that doesn't believe in technology & therefore doesn't have a cell phone or an answering machine). Early on, he agreed to letting us lock onto his lock so we could get in even if he wasn't available. Until, one day he decided he didn't want to do that because he didn't know what other folk WE might give our key to. And, he didn't want any old Tom, Dick or Mary to be able to drive across his field. Note: it's about 50 feet across this particular small field to get to our gate. It does open up to a 600 acre field but the gate to that field is locked so no one we invited to go to our house, without us couldn't get into that field.

We never knew what to expect when we drove up there, unless someone else happened to drive down that road & see that he had the gate locked & called to let us know to come in via my Dad's gate. We've been going up there for about 7 years now & he has locked us out 5 or 6 times during that time. He always says, just give him a call & he'll come unlock the gate IF we absolutely needed to come in that way. You see, he's also a bit of a control freak. He likes it when one is indebted to him & likes to hold people by the short hairs. Well, we don't like to be held by those hairs or reliant on anyone but ourselves, so this always got under our skin. Plus, he was just NOT a likable kind of person.

In January of this year, we agreed to have Justin's Mom & Dad move their vacation trailer to the property & started moving buildings (a small trailer, a cookout room & a utility building). We got the trailer moved & that is when bi-polar cousin (we'll just him BPC from now on) went off his meds again. Justin's parents had just gotten the septic installed & were waiting on the electric company to come. They decided to head to town for a few supplies but since there were no clear markings by the road with our address (BPC wouldn't allow) they wrote the address on a piece of cardboard (4x10) & put it on a popsicle stick & propped it up on the fence between some wires that were holding the rusty gate to the fence. When they got back the stick with the address was thrown into our driveway. They didn't think anything of it but got the electric on & headed back to the city.

Note: We had introduced MIL & FIL to the crazy BPC earlier & he was ever so friendly at the time.

When they went back a few days later, guess what? Yep, the rusty gate was locked. They had a trailer full of stuff & there is nowhere to turn around & they didn't have a lock to my Dad's gate & had never come in to the property that way.

My in-laws are in their 80s & MIL gets upset & nervous when someone is stupid & FIL just gets mad. Regardless, we called a cousin to unlock my Dad's gate & they got in but were unsure of what they had done to piss the Ahole off. We assured them that it wasn't them, it was him. Sure enough we checked & BPC's wife had been out of town a few weeks & he was plainly OFF HIS MEDS again.

Note: A Bit of gossip here ...Turns out, his wife hadn't just gone out of town for awhile, she had finally had enough of him & had 'left' him. She's since gone "back to him", oh well.

This last time of him locking us out without warning was the final straw for us. Especially since it now involved him being stupid to 80 year old parents who did nothing to deserve it.

When my Dad deeded us the property, he did in fact deed an easement along with it. This easement runs along BPC's fence line straight up to our house. Why you ask, hadn't we already put in our own driveway? Well, the long & short of it was $$$. This driveway would need to come off a main road (paved - YEAH!) & through about 50 yards of a wooded branch area. It would take several culverts & lots of dirt plus the equipment & labor involved would be enormous, not to mention the cost. Plus, we only have weekends & if we did it ourselves, we estimated it would take about 6 months to complete & completely consume our time & probably a lot of other people's time too.

We had been saving our hard earned $$$ to build a barn/summer kitchen but decided to go ahead & have a driveway put in instead.

We got a friend of the family to do the work, with the right equipment & then it started raining ....

Digging in the Dirt

Not much going on. Stayed in the City this weekend. Made yogurt yesterday. I wanted to dry some sage & oregano as they are going crazy in my whiskey barrel planters but we had errands to run in the afternoon & I just ran out of time. I did try a new Tart recipe ... Beet, Goat Cheese & Onion from the spoonfulblog.com.

It was very tasty but extremely time consuming to make. I had made the pie crust dough earlier in the week & had it in the fridge. Otherwise that would have added even more time. I am not a beet fan. I really really want to like them but just don't. I had received some Chioggia beets in my Veggie Bin last week and decided to make the tart. The linked recipe calls for separate tartlets but I only had a large size. I just increased the amount of goat cheese & used onions instead of leeks.

Other than that, we have an area along our driveway that is bare & we decided to put in daylilies. Found some on Craigs List & we drove to the 'Northside" this morning to pick them up. We decided on a white variety for along the driveway & some red ones for the end. We wound up with 33 plants which took about an hour to get in the ground.

One of the peace  lilies in the front.

My sister had given me three large peace lily plants from Brooke's funeral. One is placed on  my back porch but I really didn't have room in the house for the other two so we planted those in a shady area in the front yard. Hopefully they will make it.

On the other garden front, none of my herbs sprouted when I originally planted them. I chalked it up to my seeds being old. But, I really need basil throughout the summer so I decided to try again. Just in case the seeds were old I put a lot of seeds in each TP roll. Well wouldn't you know it, they came up like gangbusters this time! I gave away one roll & transplanted the rest this afternoon - 60 basil plants. Yes, you read that right ... 60. I had to double up on many because I ran out of small pots. I also transplanted 12 dill, 10 parsley & 8 thyme. Someone had also given me some tomato tree seeds that is supposed to be a perennial. Yeah right. I've never heard of them but of course I have to give it a try. I had 4 seeds, 3 came up so I transplanted those as well. We'll see what they do. All are back under the grow light right now.

Garden update: Just went outside to harvest some more Chinese Cabbage & Broccoli seed & noticed something new.

I rescued this butternut squash from the compost bin a couple of months ago & just stuck in down in one of the whiskey barrels. With the warmth we've been having, it has really taken off the past few weeks. Upon looking closer, look what I spotted.

The original squash was also in one of my Veggie Bin deliveries over the winter. I'm 95% sure it isn't an Heirloom but is probably organic. can't wait to see what it will do from here. There are 2 or 3 smaller blooms on it as well.

Justin bought this Himalayan Salt block from a Groupon that he found. You are supposed to put on a cold grill or oven, heat & then cook on it. We are going to try some cod on it tonight. Will post on how it does.

That's about it. Oh, except we got a call that our Driveway at the Country House is almost finished. We can drive on it but it will need a top cover of some sort. We're thinking maybe the least expensive way to go will be concrete aggregate if we can find some.

Beavers, Over Grown Garden Plot & Worms

I wanted to grow some worms so I found a guy to buy them from (The Worm Pin - you know instead of a King Pin). Yes, that's exactly what his business card said. Anyway, I bought them from him & he was very passionate about worm. I had read up on what to do & the instructions were basically all the same but not very detailed. I had some old 18 quart bins that I used. It just wasn't working very well. I have two of these bins with proper holes drilled but the worms just didn't do very well in them (yes, I had covers on them at the time). They didn't completely die but they weren't frolicking either.

Enter in a new friend! I gave her a few plants since hers had died. She saw my pitiful setup & took pity on me. She built me a worm hotel just like hers. It's the same basic principal but much more compact. when I get ready to add another layer (I want 3 processing bins) I'll take pictures. Keep your fingers crossed these do better.

We went to the Country House this past weekend. The grass & weeds are definitely growing. These pictures show three weeks worth of sun & rain.

This bed is the one we just covered w/paper then added leaves, poo & straw/hay.I thought the paper was to prevent the weed from coming up! Once I was down on my hands & knees inspecting these weeds I realized that most of this was oats sprouting from the poo that I had put down. I didn't have time to compost it before adding it so I'll just have to tackle removing it until it's broken down into compost. There was also some bermuda (boo!), & other weeds that birds had obviously 'dropped'. I was expecting the birds leftovers but was surprised about the horse poo. What I added to my compost bins broke down quickly & beautifully. Oh well, live & learn, no harm no foal(sp?).

As I may have mentioned before, this property was last used as farmland. That patch of trees in the above picture are the only trees ON property. There are several along the fence line but none on property. We need shade in some form so we have slowly been buying trees to eventually give us shade at various points. One place we wanted some shade was down by the pond. I have always loved wheeping willow tress so we decided to put 3 down there. We bought more mature tress (aka more $$) so they would have a jump start on the shade thing.

Earlier in the week I get a call from my Dad (he was up there for about a week) that one of the willow tress was 'down'.

This is what it looked like last year (it had been in the ground for 2 months & doing great).

This is what it looked like when we arrived.

I propped it back up. The stupid beaver that decided to 'chop' it down didn't realize that it was attached with wires to stakes to keep it somewhat straight in the wind & he couldn't carry it off. He picked what he could off of the left side of the tree, while on the ground.

Here's his handy work. A lost cause ($$ down the drain).

Oh well, my Dad placed blocks around the other 2 & hopefully they won't try to get them as well.

Plus, Justin & a couple of cousins went out around dusk & displaced at least one of them.

We think there is at least one more & an otter & a gator in the pond. We have to have spend more time up there! Plus, we have at least a hundred turtles that have moved in. Not to mention the 6 or 8 rabbits up by the house.

We have a wild kingdom around there!

The driveway is moving along slowly but you can almost drive the whole way. We'll need to add a top layer of gravel or something to keep it from washing away with the next storm. More on that later.

Fragments aka useless information & SHUT UP!!!

I don't normally write about this kind of crap but that is just what it is CRAP!!!!'

I want the old fashioned news story.

Don't give me fragments & snippets of stories. Tell me about it & let me know that you will let me know when you have ALL the facts (& truths) of the story.

All I can see is that the TALKING HEADS are doing that, just TALKING just to keep their faces on the air & the rating for their stupid news station in the forefront. Yes, even FOX was involved in the HEADS poking above.

We woke up at 5:00a this morning to 3 facts.

1. There was a robbery & a killing of a MIT policeman, possibly involving the marathon bombing idiots.
2. There was a stolen car, gun shots & possibly explosives.
3. One guy dead, probably one of the marathon bombers.

From 5:00a - 5:00p!!!!!!, those 3 things were repeated with no other information. Over & over & over again.

I don't need to hear more until more facts are uncovered!

I went to work & while checking emails for my regular emails, I kept deleting emails updating me with all the same useless information all freaking day long. I DON'T CARE. Not for the people involved but for those of us unaffected.

If I am not directly affected & I need to take action, then the TALKING HEADS should just SHUT UP!

Tell me that there is a situation & more will be reported on with truth & facts. Whatever happened to reporting the facts & truth?

If I am not directly involved, don't propagate crap just to keep my interest in order to keep the ratings. I will NOT turn the TV on or I will change the channel just to keep FROM hearing them. FoodTV didn't have a darn thing on about it, thank goodness!

I am so happy this is possibly over because I no longer have to listen to THEM ....... TALK & TALK & TALK just to hear themselves talk.

That is just plain Pontificating which is THE MOST ANNOYING TRAIT in a human being that I CANNOT tolerate.

SHUT UP already!

This and That (picture heavy)

Not too much going on lately. Justin & I had the crud back to back but are now on the upside & feeling better. Garage fridge went on the outs (making a whole bunch of noise) so we decided to replace it with another used model. the old one was over 30 years old so I guess it stood the test of time. The new one looks like someone didn't like it very much but it works well (so far, knock on wood). And, it was only $250  & the same size as the old one so it fit in the same space.

We decided not to head to the Country House this weekend since not much has happened on the Driveway & no real projects to work on there. The last time we were there we did get the rest of the blocks somewhat straightened out & straw put on all of them. Not the best picture but there are 2 asparagus beds on the left & nine regular beds done. What a workout!

Got the tomatoes & peppers planted here at the City House, gave a bunch away & still have a few left over. Gave some to a friend near the Country House & he in return gave me some lettuce plants & some hybrid tomato plants. He also told me I could raid his compost pile anytime I want! I need to work on the asparagus beds so the next time I'm there I will get a load & top them off.

Several varieties of tomatoes in assorted pots.

Lettuce from a friend (there are actually 2 of these containers)

My herbs are doing well in the whiskey barrels.

Sage

More sage, oregano &  I think a butternut squash rescued from the compost pile.

On the food front I found a recipe for Baked Avacado Fries from Baked In. Her picture are much better than mine. Still need to take that food photography course. Regardless, they were delicious! And they were even good warmed up the next day.

I also got around to baking The Canned Quilters Cinnamon Flop recipe. I don't have an 8" round cast iron pan (only have a 6, 10, 12 & 14 rounds), so I made it in the 9" square pan. It was a little thinner than hers but still very very good. This is something that will definitely stay on the keeper list. It's easy to make & not too sweet.

Made roasted carrots, brussel sprouts & parsnips recently. In addition to being pretty, they were very tasty as well.

Also, bought a box of tomatoes from a farm down south & finally got to use my Roma Food Mill. It worked great & is definitely a keeper. Much easier than a plain old sieve. Almost as messy though.

18 quarts of sauce which reduced to 9 - frozen for now.

Also bought 40 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts from Zaycon Foods. If you haven't heard of this company, they sell directly from farmers to consumers out of trucks usually in Church parking lots. You order ahead of time & they schedule delivery on a certain day & time. They just started delivering to our area. The breasts are fresh, not frozen & were delicious. I decided to can the majority.

7 qts, 16 pints & 3 1/2 pints for tasting.

We had one meal from the fresh ones & decided to try one jar of the canned We made chicken enchiladas, which were very good as well.

As you can see, even though we were sick, we still ate like kings & queens. Got to keep up your strength you know!

Justin saw this at Gander Mountain recently & thought I would like it. If you can't tell, it's a Lodge pot holder/trivet. Yes, those are teeny tiny cast iron pans on it. Love it!

Lastly, we found some food grade 55 gallon barrels on Craig's list for $25 & picked them up yesterday afternoon. They are dark colored (will hold water well) & have screw on tops. We may go back to get a couple more.

They will be good for rainwater as well as for burying with food items in them. We'll see what we come up with.

It's raining here which will make for a lovely lazy Sunday afternoon. Hope everyone has a great weekend & still crossing fingers for spring to finally show up for our Northern friends.