Done with Firewood

Finally loaded the last trailer for the year and brought it up to the house. Just as I got the hang of it I was finished. Took me 1 1/2 hours to load and a little over 3 to unload. Now can sit back and enjoy the warmth. In January I'll start cutting up the logs for next year. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season ahead. Before you know it , it will be time to start the seeds for next year's garden. New vegetable varieties and flowers to be added.

  

Green House Finished

Here it is November and I finally finished the greenhouse.  Had to wait on parts and actually waiting on the vent window. Bought it from Growers  Supply. Was easy enough to do, too many parts and at times you needed six hands. Had to bring in some help for a portion of the job. Here are a few pictures to show you some of the steps.                                                                                   

    The base which I built it on.

 My helper Oscar putting the mulch for the floor.

  A partial of the finished product.

The finished product.

My friend Ozie who was my extra hands when I needed them.

Today it was quite warm in there. After I finish loading the firewood for the house I'll build some benches inside to put the flats on. I have the conduit in for the electricity and a pie for water.That won't be done until next summer though. Just going simple with a lighting and power circuit. A few light a small fan and maybe a small heater for those cold spring mornings. Also a quick thank you to Margaret and Matthew for their time and help with the vent window.

Watermelons and Pumpkins

As another growing season comes to an end I would like to comment on a couple  different things I tried this year. Seeds were given to me by members of The Bayou Gardner Forum.

 Tobacco grew well nice small leaves but never did get tall. Ended up pulling it out and putting it out for yard waste.

 Watermelon was another story. Tried different seeds any got 3  varieties. One red round, one long yellow and one long pink . Took awhile but they came out good. 

 The pumpkins were plentiful. Actually started planting them for Oscar and just continued on. Usually send some with Sara to decorate her classroom.
  
 Below are some pictures to show you what I mean. Hope you enjoy them.If you go to the comments section you can subscribe to future postings.

New Puppies

Well we finally did it. We picked up our new puppies right before Labor day. Sure is a bit different around the house now. Actually its not that bad, a little chewing here and there puppy fights and the usual stuff. Glad I'm retired though. Missed all this fun when I was working.Found these in Chenago Forks raised by a young family with children. Reminds me of our puppy days. Enjoy the pictures.
Meet Rosie and Rylee.

TRACTOR IS FINALLY FINISHED

The tractor is done now that summer is about over. Been spending the free time I've had putting it back together and painting it up.Was easy to work on this, as it was all American steel and no metric nuts and bolts.Everything fit as it should. The frame was solid. Maybe I should look for another one for next year to use around the house pulling a drag through the back trails. I hope it runs like a John Deere should.

Another load of logs

  Yesterday hit the jackpot. Another log delivery to the house. Now my winter work will be there for me. Wouldn't be nice for a winter like last year. 

MORE LOGS

Just when I thought I was caught Up with the firewood another load of logs gets delivered. These will have to wait until the winter though as there is no more stacking room. Actually too many things to do this summer. Started back fishing and I find it very relaxing. I have sat on the lake during winter and it gets cold. So will enjoy some time by the water and get to this later. Enjoy whats left of summer.

We had a nice rain over the past few days. Sort of an off and on type. A real downpour that didn't do any good but wash the soil away. In the following picture you'll see how beneficial  rain water is over watering from the house. Might have to harvest rain water from the shed. Some tasty produce if I say so myself.

Cherry tomatoes

Had a good rain last night and the plants have perked up. Went out this morning and picked a few bite size tomatoes. They are really starting to come in now. Only have three plants of this variety.

Watermelons have started to come to harvest. Picked this 20 pounder before the animals had their taste. Have a few more out there, hoping they grow just a bit bigger.Not sure what type it is. Seeds were sent to me from Texas from a member of the forum. 

I made a batch of pickles yesterday.Three different kinds. Two were garlic dill. Recipes from the forum. Only the Bread and Butter have no garlic in them. I has a whole lot of garlic this year. Even with the mild winter it was a fantastic crop. Hope the canning process went well. total of 19 quarts and 6 pints. If I am here next year they canned well.

We need some rain

Not much has been going on in this year's garden. It seems everything is slow. We do have the usual summer squash and green beans. Even with watering it just doesn't seem to help. Jennifer took control of it this year. She planted a few different type of tomatoes which should be ripening soon. Looking forward to tasting some of those. Also for the first time she put in egg plant. Many flowers but no fruit as we type along here. Tobacco growth is not what I expected. It should go to a height of seven feet.

Tobacco

Watermelon and Pumpkins

Tomatoes peppers Beans and Eggplant

Been awhile since my last post. Not to much going on as I didn't do a garden this year. A few peppers and tomatoes though. What I have here is the garlic I planted last October. Very pleased with the results. Soon the greenhouse will be going up and I'll do some more posting. Have to let my knee heel just a bit more. For those of you who don't know I had a complete knee replacement May 21st.

SEEDLINGS NOT GROWING

On March 1st I planted some tomato seeds in peat pots.  March 5th  they sprouted and continued to grow then stopped completely. On the 5th also I transplanted individual  tobacco plants to peat pots also. They stayed the same with no new growth. So today I transplanted out of the peat pots into 4 inch pots. I did this awhile back with peppers and it made a big difference. We'll see how these go. Hate to loose what I have started . I'm thinking the peat draws all the water and the plant gets nothing.

Great day in March

Here we are in March and the weather has been fantastic. Today I decided to plant the ARKANSAS GARLIC I got from Buckwheat. So I made a patch near the firewood with the old troybuilt tiller. What a great job it does.

So after that I thought why not get some more wood split. Jason dropped off another pickup truck load of some real nice hardwoods. If i keep at it for a couple hours a day should have it all done by end of March.

March weather

 Yesterday it snowed heavy wet slush. It was too heavy to shovel and forget the snowblower, it would just clog up.  Today its going to hit 50 and it will all melt away. Its been an easy winter.

 I started some tomato plants since I couldn't go outside. Small crop this year only 3 regular and 3 cherry plants each. Pepper there are 40 of those,had 160 last year. Maybe Jenny or Jason will pick up a few more at the market. They'll be running the garden this year. The tobacco  and dill have sprouted very well. Thinned out the dill but the tobacco still needs to be done.The tobacco seeds came from a friend on the forum. Just thought I try it see what happens.

When Katie and I go out for our daily morning walk All I can see is the garlic sticking up through the snow. before you know it we'll be enjoying the scape they produce.

Winds howls through the trees

 Tuesday night was a night of warm weather and howling winds.  Winds where in the 40 to 50 mph range The big old pine in the back had me worried a bit. So today I went into the woods to see if any damaged happened. The walking trail is covered with limbs and trees. Going to have a major clean out this summer. Going  to need some help on this one.

What a difference a day makes

A few days ago I was out splitting wood in a sweatshirt. Now Margaret and I are all bundled up walking into the woods and checking things out. The snow here came quick and stayed for a change . Had to get the snowblower out twice. I'll take you into the woods for a small walk. We found deer tracks and followed them to a tree that had berries left. The lower branches are gone. Enjoy the view.