I got the Keys!

Poor Karl gets pulled in 100 different directions this time of year.  The warm weather this week has seen us coming home from work- scarfing what mom has been kind enough to cook for us - and then venturing outside to attend to the numerous tasks we have to tackle. 

I am working to tidy up long neglected beds and can spread mulch and chips like a banshee- which kept Karl interrupted getting loads of mulch.

FINALLY - with a little refresher lesson, I was able to pry the keys from his hands and use the tractor myself!  While I am not as gifted with the scoop- I am getting by and we are much more productive.

The long neglected rock garden gets a fresh coat of mulch, and the garden bench a fresh coat of bright paint.

Return of the SUGAR ANTS

Why o Why did I not rinse out that wine glass last night!   I found a nice little caravan of black ants this morning in the kitchen- another sign at our home spring is here!

You can be lazy and buy Terro ant bait ( non toxic) or build your own!  I found this on the net awhile back and it works great if you are in the DIY mood.



Sugar Ant Trap


•1 cup borax

•1 cup sugar

water



•4 shallow lidded jars
•4 loose wads of toilet paper

In a bowl, mix the borax and sugar. Place a loose wad of toilet paper into each of four different screw-top jars. Pour a quarter of the sugar and borax mixture into each of the four jars, over the toilet paper. Fill each jar with water to one inch of the top. Screw the lids on the jars, and with a hammer and nail, make four to eight holes in the lid. Place the jars in areas where you have ants (but keep away from pets and children).



This ant trap will catch the workers but not the queen. A more comprehensive solution is to blend 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar and one tablespoon of borax and sprinkle it in ant traffic areas. There is not enough borax with this method to kill the worker ants immediately, so they take it back to the nest, ultimately eradicating it. (If the worker ants do die at the powder, cut back on the borax.)



Caution: Keep borax products away from pets and other animals. It is non toxic but an irritant!



There are also a number of herbs such as mint and pennyroyal, and spices such as cayenne pepper, that repel ants.

The Spring Slaughter Begins

Roscoe P. Cole- Kitty gazing intently at bird feeder

Each spring brings new life and unintended carnage.  The return of the birds and birth of baby bunnies heralds the change of seasons and also means supplemental nutrition for Cletus and Roscoe.  While most domestic kitties kill and toy with their intended prey- our boys actually consume some of what they slaughter. 

The remaning parts are left as gifts of love.  It is amazing that a whole rabbit can be drug through the cat door and into the garage where it is then dissected with care and spread about.  One must also be careful when weeding the flower beds as it is not uncommon to find wings, intestines and varied heads of the dearly departed under flowers.

Despite our efforts, the carnage continues and we console ourselves that at least our cat food bills go down!  We have managed to protect the bluebird house by covering the pole with flashing but that does not stop the efforts.

A favorite kitty story we love to share dates back a few years ago.  My mother was recovering with us from a badly broken ankle.  Her rehab included walking laps around the wraparound porch.  After one exercise session, she was resting and birdwatching on the front bench.  Mom trained her binoculars on the flowering pear trees to identify a bird and WHAM-  she still marvels at the flash of white ( kitty ) that grabbed a bird in mid air! 

So much for a peaceful rest

Stay tuned! This week ( If I have energy to write)  -

Focal points for the garden-

The adventures of salvaging telephone poles-

and the question since Fall-  Will it be dry enough to till and plant?

Dogs are a Barkin' on Easter! The Spring Over-do!

Dogs in this case would be my feet!  Today was beau-tee-full at the farm and we could not resist the "Spring Overdo" so Karl and I are both nursing aches and pains that come from planting, dividing plants and spreading way too much mulch.

I can say that the new Neutrogena SPF 70 does work!  Our pale withered winter skins emerged this evening unscalded from a full day outside.

Anyone else out there as stressed as I am over the late planting?  We have been unable to put in onions or other crops due to the constant rain-  I think even my asparagus crowns rotted in the ground-so far no shoots!

Well folks- these hands are sore from weedin'  Happy Planting

The Making of a Farmgirl

Today was about the joys of rebellious shopping.  My niece Anna is spending her spring break on the farm- a place where she is just as much at home as the soil.  Unfortunately our first task was a miserable one-  Grandma wanted us to go out and get an Easter Dress, tights and new sandals... EEEWWWWWW!!  Now Anna is a lot more "girly" than her Aunt Shannon. She has her opinons and very quickly picked out a tasteful cotton dress, sweater, tights and shoes.  Her goal was not to have a frilly dress, but go get the Easter shopping out of the way so she could go to Tractor Supply Chick Days and play with the baby animals.  ATTTA GAL!

Now I simply could not help but to outfit her in a new set of Overalls and she also picked ( a very stylish  I might add ) Pink Tractor Supply Hat and Pink John Deere childrens work gloves.  I felt vindicated knowing she was more excited about her new "farmgirl" clothing than the frilly dressy stuff.  Somehow, I can't seem to get it across to my "city slicker brother" that pink dress shoes and dresses do not constitute "playclothes".   So between Tractor Supply and past visits to Goodwill - we now have her covered.  Our only disappointment today is we could not find her "work boots" like mine.

So after adequate chick time, we headed home to do chores.   All I can say is that kid can work.  In the space of an hour we fed dogs, cats, horses, chickens, cleaned the coop, picked up limbs from the yard - whew!  No wonder I am so tired! 

Anna exhibits such joy when visting.  She finds the Magic in our mundane...all the daily tasks we don't even consider- she enjoys and approaches with such excitement. 

All I can say is Poor Chuck!  You thought you got away from your sister only to have a daughter just like her! 

Of course unlike Great Auntie Erna did for us-  I will not teach her to cuss.... but if she gets a note home from her Spanish teacher-  She did not learn

"Dos cervezas, por favor."   from me!

Chickn' Tractor - Phase Three

We have had chickens now for 4 years and each Spring leaves us wanting to improve upon our current "Chicken Tractor". Karl took advantage of this very windy, rainy day to work on "Phase 3" in the garage.

I was wooed by an edition of Southern Living to consider free range chickens. An article showed a nice little chicken advertised as "bug control" in a perfectly manicured garden. HAH ! In retrospect, the lady obviously had a landscaper and her little floofy dog had been groomed and did not "wear the colors" of country dogs who just love to eat and roll in chicken poo. While I love my "Ladies" they are not kind to my landscape or garden beds and have unfortunately this year destroyed my entire winter crop of kale and collards.

So after much research - on to Phase 3!
We are constructing A Frame style coops with attached runs which we can scoot across the lawn- similar models online sell for boutique prices- but we figure we can use salvaged cedar and other materials to find a situation which will protect the birds, the gardens and my sanity.  Dreams of poo free shoes are not far away!

If you would like to learn from our mistakes- check out our Chicken Page!