Sweet Potato Harvest

None of us had ever planted sweet potatoes before and everyone said they were tricky to grow but we bought some slips and planted them in a very small area in our raised bed area. They thrived but we only planted a few slips and crowded them. Next year we will know better and we plan on growing a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes in a different area.

We literally only planted 4 slips in a spot about 2'x2' and we didnt know you needed to add sand. This was an experimental year but we are pleased with what we got.

I never get tired of seeing the fruits of our labor turn up...its like fishing to me, I get the same feeling when we were reeling in a salmon or halibut off of our fishing boat when we lived in Alaska.

Some of the taters were very large.

We are curing them now for winter storage but we have been eating a lot of them too...may not be much need for winter storage.

This baby already got eaten!!

Fall is Here...Gardening and Halloween Decorating

Hauling the hay for the front Halloween decorations Holly wanted.

Hay from our pasture, corn and sorghum stalks from our garden and pumpkins from our pumpkin patch...the scarecrow from Walmart!!

We started plowing the lower garden for next years croips and we plan on planting winter weat next week.

It looks cold in this photo but it was about 75 degrees...but it does look like fall which is my favorite time of the year.

It was time to knock down the corn field and plant winter wheat.

Throughly enjoyable task; brought back memories of the great corn harvest we had this year.

The sorghum patch in the background will remain for a bit longer. We have been cutting stalks and sucking on them like you would sugar cane..very sweet. Once we cut it down we will use it for silage for the horses.

We have composted regularly and have several good piles that actually steam when you turn them. Next week we are going to pick up a truck load of manure we were offered to add to some of our piles and to spread in the garden...prepping for next spring.

The supervisor

The boss with some of her carrots. She planted a variety of colors and though they look cool, I cant tell the difference. We still have a lot of carrots in the ground yet to harvest.

The bell peppers, turnips, beets, and carrots are all still doing well (we use row covers when frost is possible). We also have broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach in another garden and a bunch of herbs, tomatoes, lettuce and raddishes in the greenhouse.

The old corn patch ready for winter wheat sowing.

The new plot, less grass to mow, prepping for the spring, and ready for winter wheat.

The oaks are really changing colors too.

The new patch from the barn, the grass on this side of the big tree is where the leach field is so we cant plant there....I will have to continue to mow it.

We had a huge crops of persimmons off of our two persimmon trees. Once the frost hit them they went from bitter to sweet almost overnight but we had so many we couldnt give them away.

The Hartville Fall Festival

Holly and Judy took in the fall festival in Harville a couple weeks ago and Judy set up a booth and sold some of her quilts. She focused on table runners and Christmas decorations and did pretty well but its clear the bad economy is really hurting folks around here.

We found the canopy at a yard sale for $10.00, the table was borrowed from church, and we grabbed a couple of our patio chairs and viola'

I think she did so well because she focused on smaller table runners that people could afford ($9.00 - $20.00 range)

She does great work and now has some orders for some full sized quilts and will have a booth at the upcomming Lebanon crafts fair. She even has business cards Holly designed but she didnt go for my suggested slogan "If you cant afford an antique quilt, buy a quilt made by an antique".

Lots of hotrods

And old cars

And some REALLY old cars

Ever try and Mow with a Bull in the Pasture? (and the Giant Kershaw Squash)

Went to mow a neighbors pasture and cut more wood and a mischievious yearling bull made it a little interesting. Holly and Carol just laughed as he charged me and I had to stare him down to make him break off...grrrrr.

Just a small short job and I wasnt expecting much excitement

And he looked so....inocent

But looks are deceiving and he took umbrage with my activities

He charged me right after this picture was taken and of course Holly missed the shot..she says because she was laughing so hard.

This is a Kershaw squash the neighbors gave us.

Its a very BIG squash!!

Planting the Orchard

We decided to plant an orchard (or at least the beginnings of one) before winter so we bought 3 apple and 2 pear trees from a local nursery.

And since we dont have running water on that side of the lower pasture we got a 550 gallon tank and plumbed in a spigot at the bottom so we can gravity feed water to the trees. Eventually we will put a manifold on the spigot to run multiple water lines and we hope to fill the tank with a rain water collection system we are adding to the pole barn shop we will be building in the spring right behind this tank.

we cleared part of the lower pasture aand marked each tree location to ensure 15 foot separation.

The propane tank in back will be used for the heater in the pole barn.

We can fill the tank from the hose frost free hydrant over by the trailer (using 200 feet of hose)

There is enough drop from the tank to the orchard to give us a good flow of water.

And we will be close to the barn which gets electricity in the spring.

Boo Boo was on hand to supervise as usual...he has gained a little weight but has been really knocking out the mole problem so we dont make too much fun of him (he is sensitive).

We staked them all and then surrounded them with chicken wire to discourage the rabbits which are so plentiful. Deer for some reason dont come this close to the barn yard (probably the dogs scare them off).

Holly and Judy planting a tree

We still cant believe we are living our dream like this. Its been such a long journey but its so very satisfying.

And the orchard is planted. Next spring we will greatly expand it but I think its a good start.

Judy's Covered Front Porch

With all of the frenetic activity around here getting ready for winter, finishing projects and company we had Judy's covered porch built for us and it took less than a day. Frankly it didnt cost much more than if I did it myself with the prices of lumber lately. We just did cheapo shingles on it because the whole roof is going to be done with a green metal roof in the spring when we cover the back patio for her.

We had them tie into the existing roof peak where there had been a cover porch in the past. It about doubled her front porch area.

She also has an outside light and we put solar lights along the concrete sidewalk....its really nice now that its getting darker.

If I remember the dimensions are 10'x6' and it has a complete railing and closed gable end. We still need to stain it before winter (going with a cedar stain/sealer).

Als Visit

Number 4 and youngest son Al came for an all too brief visit and he was the usual happy go lucky guy he always is. The original plan was for me to help him drive his truck back to Bellingham Washington and then fly back but when we checked the truck for the trip there were some...problems. He had slid into a snowbank which severely dented the drivers side and the front bumber was rubbing the front tire and causing problems. The check engine light was on, the transmission was slipping, and the radiator was boiling over...other than that no problem.

So we ended up buying the thing from him and I have been wrenching on it ever since. I will post about that later. We had fun, ate some good food and then Al had to get back to McChord AFB so we drove him to Springfield and put him on a plane. We wish he could stay longer and we plan on bringing him out next summer for a longer stay.

Unfortunately our camera was acting up and Al hasnt sent us any of the pictures he took but here he is riding the 4 wheeler.

And of course the ubiquitous picture with Bandit.