4-21-03: Meeting More Neighbors

Monday, April 21, 2003

10:40pm  Just got off the internet, searching for realtors that service the area we’re looking toward *for Lars. Two possibilities surfaced, one in Marion & one near Marysville.

The vet called today & said that Tig’s blood test came out normal—he told David that "Tig has the blood of a 2-year-old cat". Pretty neat, except not much help explaining why he was vomiting so often. But, he is still doing very well and barf-free since being quarantined in his room. I had him on his harness & line last week in the sunroom when it was so warm & sunny, and later he barfed for the first time in weeks. No access to plants, so maybe it’s from drinking from the dog water bowl. Who knows; just a guessing game.

Today I finished sewing pouches for the tractor & the mower, to hold a walkie-talkie and a tool or two.

David finished prepping the patio area today—tilling & grading. His big accomplishment is the brick border/retaining wall. He has a beautiful curve in it, and he was so careful to level and align each one. Next step is to add gravel, and decide where a concrete or stone pad will be for a table and chairs.

The back yard garden and walkway is also in the final stages, with the site mapped out and awaiting the placement of stepping stones (taken from their previous spot which will now be patio).  Also awaiting plants to plant.

Speaking of plants, the trees we ordered April 1 from the SWCD are ready to be picked up tomorrow! 105 seedlings—boy are we going to be busy. Mostly evergreens & flowering trees. No idea when the trees & plants from mail-order will be arriving, but I hope not tomorrow!

We finally had some April showers over the weekend—thunderstorm last evening. We thought is was pretty funny to actually be wishing for rain in April. Columbus, or parts of, had damaging hail storms yesterday, with some places getting 6”. No word from Lars, so I’ll assume he’s okay.

Yesterday was Easter (big whoop) and Dad’s birthday. He & Elsie were in Cape Canaveral, FL after staying overnight while enroute to Orlando. They’ll party at Disney with *Elsie’s daughter & kids, then off to Destin.

Saw the Easter Bunny through the front window on Easter morning!
(He must have put out out the baskets and candy already...)

Saturday I delivered baked goods to [K, neighbor] & got a tour of their house. Met [P] and [A]—neighbors to the east with all the horses—and talked horses (saw 5-day old foal!) Met [L]’s wife [S] and their daughter. [G] and his wife [R] not home (R in hospital w/ kidney probs).

I was telling them about delivering goodies to their people

The donkey was watching me slog through the stream like a pack animal

*for Lars: We were still hoping we could find my brother a better place to live and work, and convince him to make the change.

*Elsie’s daughter & kids: from Sweden

End of Entry

4-17-03: Sheep Have Long Tails!

Thursday April 17, 2003

[as an entry, the printout of an email is taped into my journal]

19:04:02  Dad & Elsie:  Guess what I did today? Old [G] stopped by today before noon and said [L] (his son, that I helped load the hogs) was shearing some sheep and did I want to come watch. David was headed to town for a chainsaw blade and didn’t want to go, but I hopped on my bike (with walkie-talkie in my pocket) and pedaled up the road to [G’s] barn. There were 2 sheep left to do out of 12+, and I took a couple pictures.

Let the shearing begin.
The ewe is not in any pain; apparently when they tip them on their back for the procedure,
they kind of go into a trance and don't struggle much at all.

Hold still...

It's okay, now she has an excuse to get a new coat!

Did you know that sheep have long tails? You probably knew that, Daddy, but I did not. Apparently the evil humans clamp a tight band near the base of the tail after the lamb is born, and within the first six months the tail falls off. I saw a couple lambs with tails still, and couldn’t believe it. Between them and that turtle, it’s been a week of long tails…

[L] said we should be receiving our sausage soon (payoff for hog loading) but that this week is so busy. He went on and on about how busy he would be, and I assumed he meant spring farming stuff. Turns out he was just having trouble scheduling all the different places they were going to eat Easter dinner ([L’s] a big boy). Pretty funny, but I didn’t laugh at the time. Vince and Tessa are intrigued by the chunk of sheep’s wool I brought home. Such a strong smell, even after washing!

It was supposed to rain today but didn’t. David is no more impressed with the Ohio weather forecasters than he was the Washington folks. But, I proceeded with my plan to make this a baking day, since my muscles are all worn out and I walk around like a 90-year-old. So, with the intent of bringing goodies to the neighbors, I made chocolate chip cookies and cornbread muffins. David had requested a dessert earlier this week, so for him I made Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake and also some Gingersnap cookies. All in all, a long day in the kitchen (BBQ salmon for dinner) but I look forward to bringing the goods to the neighbors as thanks for their kindness, and prepayment on favors we may ask.

Well, time for bed. I got the photos organized tonight before I started this email, so I’ll have some attachments for you tomorrow. Thanks for the email info and cartoons!
Love, Tina & the gang


End of Entry

4/14-16/03: Beautiful Weather Keeps Us Outside

Monday April 14, 2003

11:22pm  Tired from another great day. David went to town this morning while I stayed home and did housework. Today’s big purchase was a KingKutter bush hog. So, this afternoon my farmer husband plowed in the west field and bush hog mowed in the north field. I’m proud and amazed at how he is taking on all these new skills. He said yesterday that he feels he was cut out for this stuff and is really enjoying everything. These warm temps (70’s) are probably unusual for April, but who cares.

Farmer David cleaning up the North Field

Looking good

Site for large garden plot in West Field

Ready, Set, Go

My favorite farmer!

I was pretty excited,
until I realized I would have to deal with all those clumps of heavy dirt...

Tessa is collapsed on our bed, exhausted yet again. Have to send her to her bed soon.  Final notes: Made a roast in the slow cooker yesterday after browning it the “Good Eats” advised. Really enjoying the hot tub. Supposed to hit 80* tomorrow. No word on Tig’s blood test.

Wednesday April 16, 2003

9:02am  Ah, nothing like 10 hours of sleep to rest a tired body.

Yesterday was another gorgeous, abnormal April day, with 80*+ temps and blue skies. Rain is being forecast for tonight and tomorrow so I’ve planned to do some baking during the wet spell. But dry as a bone yesterday, so I spent @ 4 hours in the north field clearing brush and cut wood from around the fallen trees and removing large branches from David’s mowing path.

He had the bush hog out again, but was having trouble with the tractor so he went to town for spark plugs, and later again for some other supplies, and put the tractor in the garage for a tune-up. He roared back out to the field around 5:00 and got quite a bit of mowing done before hunger forced him in @ 7:00. I made turkey meatloaf so I wasn’t worried about holding it for him. Half beef, half turkey, and uncooked oats instead of breadcrumbs—turned out good!

I was tired from my field work but I spent some time spading out sod in the back yard while waiting for David to finish mowing. Getting the grass out is laborious, but will really pay off when we’re able to finesse the landscaping ideas we have.

One highlight from yesterday: I was way out in the field, working hard in the heat and getting very thirsty. David was due back from one of his town trips, and I decided to ask him for a beer delivery when he came home. Then I had a GREAT idea! So, when David arrived and walkie-talkied to me that he was back, I told him my idea.

Soon enough, he was letting Vince out the west field gate, and Vince made his way through the multiflora all the way out to me. His backpack had beer in one pocket and snacks in the other! Very cute, very convenient, and the cold beer didn’t last long. He headed back across the field @15 min later, so I radioed to David who let him in the gate. Tessa was pretty cheesed about the whole thing, but oh well.

9:24am  David is mowing the front yard—rider mower must feel tiny compared to the tractor—and planning to fertilize before the rain tonight. I’ll probably dig more sod and play with plants.  TIME TO GET UP!

[photos from later in the day]

The doggies like to keep an eye on the front yard.

Prehistoric creature in the back yard stream

The End

End of Entry

4-12-03: Plants, Pond, Path, Poplars, Pumpkins, Perspective

Saturday April 12, 2003

8:37pm  Had another big yard day today

8:50pm Whoops, guess watching TV and writing a journal doesn’t mix…   I did the dog thing this morning, then went back with all the dogs to *their bed and and we napped together. It was another beautiful day outside, though, so things got rolling @ 9:00. David built *some tree cages last night and this morning he put them on the poplars to the east of the pond, then took down the old fence (basically extending the back yard into what used to be one of horse “chutes”). Vince & Tessa were a little surprised, but didn’t take long to investigate the new strip.

Vince and Tessa survey the new area.

Lots of new scents to check out

Vince decides to jump for it...

Up, Up & Away!

Me too!

Just chillin'

I planted the hostas that I removed from under the trees in the front yard. Didn’t think they were flourishing in such strong southern sun. Decided to stick them on the west side of the big shed wich is shaded by an evergreen. Used to be some junipers there, but there were dying from lack of sun so I transplanted them to down by the stream.

In the past few days, David & I finished the pond edging & plastic lining & block placing & gravel pouring & block removal & plastic trimming (mind you it was 80/20 David to me…) He let me play “county worker” and drive the mower slowly while he shoveled gravel from the back. He said I didn’t take enough breaks to be a good county worker.

Hope this works

Yes, it was as much work as it looks

This corner really shows off the plastic bling!

All right, let's keep our fingers crossed that all the work was worth it.

So fas so good!

Also today we plotted out the path from the garage to the shed. After spading a couple rows by hand I got the bright idea to use the power edger/trencher and cut a patchwork, then spade out squares.

Cutting & removing sod is a great workout!

Eventually, results start to add up.

On Friday, we had a vet apt for Tig, Pav & Vince. The vet is great—very good about explaining things and listening. Turns out we may be able to *save Pav’s eyesight with some special goo, and also he doesn’t need booster immun’s anymore (neither does Tig)—new thinking in the vet community. Tig gave a blood sample and they’ll check for causes of his underweight (6+ lbs) and recent vomiting. Vince was all A-ok.

Later on Friday David called Weavers to see about a replacement bush hog—he didn’t have one yet but agreed to swap for a plow. So, David rigged up a winch, got the ‘hog’ in the back of the pickup and took off. I worked in the yard till he came back, now with a plow in the truck.

New Toy

Yesterday we decided on a plot in the west field for David to plow. I’ll plant corn, pumpkins and watermelons—anything that needs room to spread out. Speaking of the west field, today I mowed most of the long grass out there, since I was out to water the poplars anyway. It was kind of fun, but bumpy, and the grass kept blowing in my face. I’m afraid I didn’t do a good job planting the poplars (too much of a depression from ground level) but I have faith in Mother Nature overcoming my human error. 

The weather is supposed to keep getting better & warmer through the next few days. David & I both got a little sunburned today, which which we found funny for April—we’re used to being waterlogged, not sunburned!  Ray & Sharon are in Hawaii, so we can’t call them to gloat.Tomorrow I need to finish transplanting shrubs out of the front bed & into the temporary bed. It’s a risk to dig things up after they’ve started to ‘wake up’ but oh well.

I just realized I haven’t mentioned war in Iraq in my journaling—hmmmm. Must be a symptom of my decision to avoid the subject… I enjoy getting Dad’s perspective on it and venting now & then, but in general I just choose not to make it part of my daily life.

Tired now

*their bed: Our dogs were not, and are not, ever asked to 'rough it'. By 'bed' I meant an actual bed, covered with washable dog blankets...

*some tree cages: masses of them actually, made from fencing that he cut to size, snipping hundreds of individual wires
*save Pav’s eyesight: His eyes had become quite "cloudy"

End of Entry

4-7-03: April Activities

Monday April 7, 2003

It’s been rainy last night & today which is a terrific way to convince us to do a whole lot of nothing. Yesterday was very cold (coat, hat, scarf temp) but I ended up doing some outside work. Just went outside at first to throw the ball for the dogs, then decided to put the marker flags from Tractor Supply by each tree we’ve planted (for future mowing safety). Then, ran Vince & Tessa around the west field—they’re being very good about minding the boundaries, even the spots that would be easy for them to get through. They’re both such good dogs, and Tessa continues to mature and show real intelligence.

Then, more ball throwing, then decided to drive the mower & dump cart into the barn and transfer the straw & manure from the middle stall to the corral. It took three full loads—I’m very excited to have the cart so I didn’t have to make 600 wheelbarrow trips… Most of that pile was from fall & winter when I just pitched it over the wall from Sam’s stall. Speaking of pitched, the *new tool we bought at Tractor Supply works great!

Tessa is laying beside the couch chewing the last bit of a rawhide bone, and I’m suddenly reminded of the time *Luc was doing the same and swallowed it, and started gagging. The slimy piece of rawhide was stuck to the roof of his mouth, down into his throat, and I had to stick my whole hand in his mouth and peel it out, which was difficult because it was so slippery. Luc was pretty happy I got it out.

David worked on the plumbing downstairs yesterday while I was outside, mostly correcting and updating existing pipes. He’s also done preparations for the bathroom to be be. And if that weren’t talented enough, today he helped me cut my hair—did a damn good job, too! I told him it’s a sign of our true love that I let him cut my hair. Leslie had very short hair when she visited last; I thought it looked terrific and will probably copy it this summer.

We bought postcards at Meijer the other day, and today I wrote out two to *Britta and Karin, and David wrote to 3 of his relatives. The general idea is to let them know we’ll be traveling around this summer and want to see them. It will be fun to hear back from any or all of them.

Today is Elsie’s birthday. They called us around 10a.m. to talk about having opened her present (the custom decorated apron) and Elsie sounded very happy. Started up at 7am with champagne and strawberries, and were looking forward to the cake she’d baked—strawberry & marzipan & misc other good stuff.  

Tig has continued to have barf issues, and because of his diet changes to find a fix he has also become more & more vocal. So, a few days ago I decided to sequester him in his room. This keeps carpet cleanup more localized, and mutes his meowing. It’s turned out to be a good idea so far, since his barfing has almost ceased and he’s quiet & napping most of the time. I’ve even started trying dry food on him again (that’s what we thought was the original cause of sickness). At the moment it’s a good situation for all, and we don’t holler at him to ‘be quiet’ anymore.

The ribs are in the slow cooker, and are smelling terrific! Put them in @ 2:00 while I was watching my soaps, and now it’s almost 5:00.

The temporary garden area is completely cleared of sod, and now contains 20+ strawberry plants, and some temporary inhabitants—shrubs, trees, misc plants waiting for a new home. Since we’re traveling this summer, we’re not going to plant a real garden, just get the soil prepped with compost and tilling. Bought a tiller at Sears, and between that and a plow attachment for the tractor we’re major league ground breakers!

Temporary Garden in back yard

Clearing plot for future garden, between large shed & barn

I finally make it into a photo thanks to a tractor tire and a timer!

That should be about right.

End of Entry

*new tool: What a goober--I think I was excited about our new pitchfork...

*Luc: the Doberman Pinscher we had in Des Moines and Auburn, WA

*Britta and Karin: my dad's sisters in New Jersey & New York