I have decided to try, once again, to make gardening a little easier on us this year.
Wheelbarrow and Bins
I hope it works. I have given over more space to the blueberry/strawberry patch the last couple of years and space is getting tight in the garden, which is already plenty big enough, in terms of taking care of it. We always try to grow enough potatoes for the entire year and they take up a lot of room grown in the 10-12 single rows. It is also a lot of hard work to keep them weeded and hilled up and then digging them up
Last Years Potato Patch
at the end of the season. I have been using cardboard between the rows as mulch and covering that with barn cleanings and we had a great crop in 2014.
I have been reading about growing various vegetables vertically instead, which seems like a great idea because it will make them easier to dig and also less prone to being smothered with weeds, besides taking up less space in the garden. So today, I hauled out some old pallets from the front barn and tied them together with bailing twine to form two bins out in the garden. I loaded each bin with a wheelbarrow load of composted barn cleanings and dropped hay and set the already sprouted taters on top, rather thickly.
Sprouted Taters Laid Out
Then I covered them with another load of fairly dry chicken bedding. The plan is to keep adding soil, compost to cover the potatoes as they grow, so that they grow a very long stem with space for the tubers all along it. We should be able to harvest a lot of potatoes in a much smaller space by going up instead of each plant only making a few in the shallow space of the rows.
We always plant Yukon Golds, they are the best tasting potato I have found and we had enough left from last year so we don’t have to buy any. However, from what I have been reading it looks like Yukons are not the best choice for growing vertically, as they are “determinate” and won’t produce spuds the entire length of the buried plant
Potato Bins Ready
stem as I had hoped. So, it looks like I will have to buy some seed potatoes of another variety after all and plant a third bin, just in case. They will
still take up far less room than usual and we will just have to see how it goes.
It has been a rough winter here, starting out with a good size snow right after Thanksgiving, morphing into a “What happened? I thought Winter had arrived super early and now we’ve got nothing. No snow, temps hovering above freezing…What gives?” Then Winter came back with a vengeance and it got really cold and stayed there for days on end, dipping below zero degrees a couple of times and into the single digits on numerous mornings. I put my long johns on and kept them on for the duration. My tall waterproof leather Keen boots and beautiful, thick Smart Wool socks got a serious workout every day and have more than justified their cost. I had good traction and warm feet even in 13 inches of snow. I wore them to the barn to do chores, to work, and hiking as well.
This winter I finally managed to get a heated waterer for the chickens, actually a dog bowl, but they don’t care. It keeps us from having to haul the galvanized waterer in to the house and thaw it on the woodstove. It doesn’t hold as much, but it is so easy to refill with the freezeproof hydrant out in the barn.
Chickens with their heated dog waterer
I installed that after the winter of 96 when we had FEET of snow and we got tired of digging a path to the barn everyday to water haul buckets to the horses. Sometimes I wonder why it takes me so long to figure these things out. I tried, once again, to put a tank de-icer in the horse trough but she will have not drink with anything floating around in her water. Maybe next year I will figure that one out. I broke the trough busting the ice out of it this winter and had to improvise with a plastic tub.
The chickens and horse came through the winter fine, laying well and staying healthy.
Mara in the Snow-Fat and Happy
The dogs spent a lot of time in the house, even though I bought them winter jackets from a friend who makes really nice ones. They were great when it was snowing. I didn’t have to dry the dogs off each time I let them in, just shook off the coats and hung them near the stove. It was too cold to leave them outside all day when I was at work and they turned into couch potatoes quite willingly with very few accidents. They have enjoyed being outside here lately though and now lay exhausted on the couch. It was amazing how close they managed to get to the woodstove when it was seriously cold outside. The cat, Frieda, didn’t go out her cat door any more than she absolutely had to all winter. She loves her heated mudroom, as do we. It is so nice to leave all the snow and mud out there instead of traipsing it through the house. The covered porch/ woodshed was one of our better additions too.
Unfortunately, we did not get our skis out at all. I have been having issues with my shoulder and cross country with poles was not an option. Plus, it was really cold…
Bees -March 2015
Hives in Snow
My poor Italians did not make it through the Winter. They were alive in January. I could hear them quietly humming when I knocked on the hive. But when I opened the hive up on that warm Sunday March 8th, they were all dead. There was plenty of honey left, so at least they didn’t starve, but I think maybe there were not enough of them to keep each other warm. It was very sad. The Russians were buzzing all over the place the same day, acting kind of frantic (which made me nervous) so I left them alone and did not open them until this Monday evening the 16th. They were a mess. They had built comb bridging between some of the frames, there was almost no honey left, I saw no brood and I could not find the queen. I have never found a queen so it is possible she is on one of the two frames I did not move. I put a screened bottom board on to help with mite control, switched the bottom deep with the upper deep, and scraped out all the dead bees. There were way more fatalities than I
Dead Bees
expected and now I am worried they won’t make it either. I disturbed them so much that I figured I would leave the one large mass huddled together alone and just feed them and let them rest. I will feed them again in a few days and look for the queen and some evidence of eggs again then.
I have ordered a nuc to replace the Italians and a 3# package for my new hive and I may have to buy a new queen for the Russians. A nuc is an already started mini- hive with a laying queen, some honey, some pollen stores, and a bunch of bees ready to go. There is so much to learn. I have been to two beekeeping classes the last two Saturdays and have joined the Eastern Panhandle Beekeepers group and been to one meeting so far. I was surprised at how many people were there. We filled to overflowing the meeting room at the WVU Fruit Reseach Station over in Kearneysville, WV. I’ll bet there were 150 members present for the monthly meeting. The weather was a major topic. A lot of folks lost some of their bees this winter. The bloom time of some plants the bees rely on has been delayed too. There was discussion about feeding pollen patties, sugar syrup, IPM (Integrated Pest Management) that will need to be carried out. It seems to be a helpful group. They set new folks up with mentors so they would have local support in their new projects. Three speakers talked about rearing queens, splitting hives, feeding and pest control. Like I said, there is a lot to learn when it comes to bee keeping. I have a long way to go but they are fascinating creatures worth learning about.
It is vitally important that a potential life partner be able to pass a few basic skills tests before you decide to embark on a long term serious relationship. Unfortunately there is a steep learning curve involved that took me awhile to grasp. My partners have had to pass muster in skills that have gotten progressively more difficult as I’ve matured. The guy I ended up keeping has had it the worst, of course. There was never an initial decision on my part that he must do this or that a certain way or get tossed back. No. It was more of an ongoing list of challenges as the options presented themselves over time.
Partner number one managed to get away with just being extremely sexy, gentle, and willing to take me away to our dream of a West Virginia homesteading adventure. This lasted about six years. My plans were to help him build our own off grid house, grow and store the food we needed, sew our clothes on my foot powered sewing machine, and in the end, make pottery for a living. Lots of things got in the way. Life does that. The house building turned out to be a lot harder than we thought, for one. Of all my brothers’ friends, the one I chose was the only one not a carpenter. He drove a truck, and made good money doing it, so he didn’t have to work away all the time. We lived on about $3000 a year for quite awhile back in the 70’s. Building a house is not easy without electric tools and only a chainsaw for sawing and it takes at least two people. It is really helpful if one of them has actual experience. Using hand tools slows the whole process down considerably and the long hike up our steep hill to the house site did not help. Porch sitting was way too inviting. And then there was hay to cut, weeds to pull, water to haul, goats to milk, clothes to wash, a million chores to do. As time wore on and trials got harder we started to fail. He had a hard time accepting help from others and then, with a new baby, I was way too busy. House building is not a one person job, heavy lifting requires help. All the responsibility of the new baby fell to me and the house building progress slowed down with no one seeming to be driving. We eventually gave up.
My second partner was proficient in building with stone and wood and could even do electrical work so he seemed promising, at first. I fell for him in a big way when he presented me with a porch full of milk crates neatly filled with dry kindling for the woodstove. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. We never managed to get further than the first few courses of foundation block on our house building venture. We grew and sold organic produce and worked ourselves to death for very little pay. Luckily we had free rent on an old log house next door and only small bills. We borrowed money for a drilled well but it ended up being needed for a lawyer when he got busted selling pot. Two more babies entered the picture and hot running water was still a dream of mine. We hauled water from the pond and heated it on the stove for baths and used the wringer washer on the porch for laundry. I washed all the diapers this way and it was a step up from the wash tubs and scrub boards I had used before. Then we had to borrow money against the land. He didn’t work steady enough to keep us going and didn’t want me to earn more than he did. I was finally learning how to make my opinions heard and that did not go over so well. I managed to land a job as a cook at a conference center making decent money. When he got ugly, I called it quits.
My third partner is finally a keeper. We started off a lot slower. He led
Keeper In the Woods
me through my first caving adventure, and being somewhat claustrophobic, that was a feat in itself. He bought me my own mountain bike so we could ride together. We long distance dated for two years with him driving 165 miles down to my place in Virginia two or three times a month. He would get up really early on those Monday mornings and drive all the way to D.C. for work. He has managed to hold the same good paying job for over twenty five years, which is amazing to me. I get bored and have to change jobs every few years. While staying over one weekend he opened my chest freezer to fetch out the ice cream and came face to face with an entire pig head, unwrapped. It didn’t faze him- much anyway. I was keeping it for making scrapple with later. This was a good sign he might be keeper material. The, in the early morning hours of one Monday he poured himself a bowl of cereal and after eating it for awhile, and his eyes finally focusing, realized there were things moving in there. Meal worms had hatched and were eating their way through. It was an old box of something that the kids didn’t like and had been hanging around way too long. Long expired. He took that pretty well too, although he was careful to check his food from then on.
As time wore on and chores needed to be done around my place I managed to get him to help out some. He had never really had animals, except a cat, and I have always had plenty. Horses, dogs, chickens, milk goats, a cow, veggie and fruit gardens, geese, rabbits, ducks, you name it. At this stage I had three horses and the kids were learning to ride so I was building a riding ring. I had over a hundred fence posts and all the oak boards I needed from a fence moving project at the farm where I had worked for three years. Otherwise, there was no way I could have afforded to build it. We had to hand-dig 90 holes, set and tamp all the posts, and nail in two rows of oak boards. It was not a quick project. Digging the holes with post hole diggers requires upper body strength and causes blisters until you get used to it. There are only so many holes you can do per day or weekend so it went on for awhile. We managed to also have fun caving and hiking in, between too. This was a pretty major test of his willingness to help me do a big job though, and he passed with a good attitude, even though he was not even into horses.
Partners that are destined for the long haul will be able to pass these basic skills tests. They will be open to new ideas and new directions. They will be supportive when you decide to suddenly change course and go back to school. They will try and understand when you feel the need to change careers or start a new business. They will forgive you for making them get off the couch. They will help you with your self inflicted chores. They will be willing to play when you get those chores done. They will take you places you might not have gone alone. We now live in a real house that we changed to suit us, we garden and keep a horse and chickens and some bees. We both work hard but we play harder. The kids have their own families and are doing fine. Live is good.
The Keeper at Sunset
When you find a partner who is willing to help you in your projects, who has an open mind and will support you and your changing plans for your life, grab him (or her) and hold them tight. Third time was a charm for me but I hope others learn faster than I did. It is great to finally have a supportive, ambitious and forgiving partner.
I lived for many years without running water and quite a few without electricity, but once I got set up with it I expected it to work. When we didn’t have electric we had a hand pump, you know, the old fashioned pitcher pump kind you have to prime with a little water each time. We had to remember to keep a little extra water stashed nearby to pour in the top to get a suction going. In the winter our prime water had to be kept inside where it wouldn’t freeze, which also meant we had to be careful not to leave water sitting in the top of the pitcher pump, or it would freeze the whole pump solid. In that case we had to take hot water from the stove to thaw it out. That was rough on the leather gasket of the plunger though and best not resorted to. In the summer it was a much easier and more enjoyable task altogether.
The Cabin
I have since gotten used to having hot and cold running water and I appreciate it every time I turn on a tap. It is such a time saver. Even our cabin out in Pendleton County, West Virginia has indoor hot and cold running water, with a shower and toilet and everything. It is still amazing to me that not only do I live in a real house now, but I have a second one out in the mountains that is way nicer than the one I lived in back in the seventies. I went from living in an un-insulated block milking shed with a dirt floor, to having a big, centrally heated, air conditioned house and workshop along with a second small house in the mountains. I have definitely come up in the world. Sometimes I feel a little guilty for having so much, but then I look at how hard we have had to work to get here, and feel OK about it. At least we have something concrete for our efforts and our pay has not been totally frittered away.
So this Presidents Day weekend we went out to west Virginia cave country and arrived at the cabin around 9:30 in the morning. It was really cold outside and dropping fast.The first thing I did was turn the breakers on to the water pump and the water heater. Nothing. So I crawled under the house and discovered that both hundred watt light bulbs that we keep burning in the insulated pump box had burned out. These were American made incandescent bulbs that we bought at the local hardware store in hopes that they would last longer than all the basic Chinese made bulbs we had gone through. Apparently American made was not an improvement. Who knows when, in the last three weeks, the lights had gone out. I did not see any obvious cracks in the cast iron pump housing or any sign of leakage, so maybe it wasn’t too bad. I screwed in two fresh bulbs closed the box back up and crossed my fingers. I went upstairs, got a good fire going in the woodstove, and after a bit, we headed to Thompsons Motel in Franklin to meet up with our Grotto members.
Caving
President’s Day weekend used to be an annual caver tradition for our group which has fallen by the wayside somewhat over the past few years. Heavy snow sometimes puts a stop to it. And in the last few years, many of the caves have been closed due to White Nose Syndrome in the bats. This was Jeff’s twenty seventh year out here and he always looks forward to having somebody to cave with. Cavers tend to get a little squirrely when they are prevented from going underground for too long and it is best to let them go at least once in awhile. I prefer being above ground most of the time, appreciating the sun and sky, so I am not always much fun. I can get claustrophobic in tight spaces if conditions aren’t just right. While we waited for everyone else to make their way to Thompson”s Motel and get their gear together we decided to make a run down to the hardware store for a small space heater. The guy behind the counter said he uses one in his pump box and it works much better than a lightbulb. We bought that and some requested batteries and kneepads as well. After everybody who was going caving finally left for their trip, a couple of us decided to drive to Davis and check out the crafts gallery shop there.
The weather report was calling for some serious cold temperatures this weekend, single digits to down near zero degrees Fahrenheit with winds up to fifty miles per hour. Luckily, only an inch or two of snow was called for with it. At one point, after we gotten back to the motel from Davis, it was a blizzard with zero visibility and the snow blowing sideways.
Potomac in Ice
That did not last long, but then the temperature started to plummet. When the cavers went in to New Trout cave, which is two miles down the road from the cabin, it was thirty four degrees outside with an overcast breezy sky. Five hours later they emerged to about twelve degrees with wind driven snow and couldn’t even see the car parked a hundred feet away. They were all really dirty from the cave, with blackened faces and had showers before walking across to the Fireside Café for dinner. About twelve of us ate and visited for our Valentine’s Day dinner and then Jeff and I headed back to the cabin for the night. I was relieved to find that the warmth from the new light bulbs had thawed the pump while we were gone and it was now able to run again. We set up the tiny space heater for the pump, flipped the breaker on for the hot water heater, and brought in lots of firewood for the night.
Chimney Fire
While firing the stove up nice and hot just before bed, it started roaring and we could see flames through a not quite so tight joint high up in the stove pipe. I am not sure how we managed to get a creosote buildup in there that quick. We just installed this stove in November and the pipe was clean. I try and fire it up good and hot with no damper twice a day to prevent that. I cut the air off and let it cool some before slowly bringing it back up again. I think the creosote had burned off by then and it was fine afterwards. In the process, we discovered that the smoke detector actually worked and reminded ourselves of where the fire extinguisher resides, just in case.
The high winds forecasted for Saturday night turned into, not a steady blast, but a few gusty bouts during the night. Strong enough for the cabin walls to grunt a couple of times. I am so glad we are not located up on a ridge top. The views might be better but it would scare me in fierce storms. We enjoy the protection of numerous hills around us, although sometimes the wind can funnel right up through the draw at a pretty good clip.
When I got up Sunday morning the deck thermometer read four degrees, which was better than I expected. I got up once during the night to stoke the woodstove and it was still warm inside the cabin. We didn’t open the bedroom windows like we usually do though, only about a quarter inch on one of them for some fresh air. Our down comforter and one extra blanket kept us warm enough. We had four folks staying with us, two right by the stove on the futon, and two in the back bedroom and nobody froze.
Cold and Clear Blue at the cabin
On Sunday the thermometer read a whopping twelve degrees at twelve noon and the wind was lightly ruffling the bare branches, with a gorgeous blue sky. Jeff and five friends drove to Crossroads cave, about an hour away. A friend I hardly ever get to see managed to make it out to visit me and we spent a little time drinking wine and listening to music. I enjoyed a little writing and editing time and cooked up a big pot of veggie stew, using our butternut squash and potatoes and some red lentils, to have ready when they got back. There was fresh baked cornbread, brownies for desert, wine and beer, and everyone was happy. The hot water ran like it was supposed to and the cabin was toasty while we all relaxed for the night. We went out on the deck to look at the multitude of stars for a bit but it was too cold to stay out there very long.
In the morning it was still twelve degrees outside and looked like snow. Everyone had to think about driving home before the roads got too bad. We went into town to pick up the turtle that needs a home and say goodbye to everyone who stayed at the motel. We are supposed to get somewhere between 3 and 11 inches but who knows? The weather reports have been so far off this winter. There was about two inches on the ground when we left the cabin and it snowed all the way home, which took about three and a half hours instead of three. We got home to happy dogs, fed the critters, and settled back in. It was a good weekend.
