Our poor critters are so lost. The time change happened Sunday overnight, and we love it – critters hate it.
They don’t get it and can’t understand why we are not feeding them at the same time as the day before. Even after the change, going into the middle of the week, they are still very upset (or, rather, angry).
I am lost and confused, too. I wish we could just do away with the time change junk. My body said it doesn’t like it either. I came down with an ugly flu late Friday afternoon. Since I had COVID-19, I no longer get a “simple flu.”
My flu used to be a quick 24–48-hour bug: fever, chills, sometimes vomiting, and then it was done. No big deal. Not anymore. They start out with me freezing (WARNING WILL ROBINSON, WARNING!), then within about an hour, I get these horrific shakes. After several hours of that, it turns into a wonderful warm fever (usually 101 degrees plus). That lasted until late Sunday evening, and then it happened.
A frickin stye!! WHERE DID THAT COME FROM? I have not had a stye in my eye in over ten years, so what brought this on now?
Then, just for grins and giggles, God decided to throw in a cold. A COLD!!??!!! He must be really bored up there to decide to have such fun with me and my body over a 48-hour period (jerk!).
I swear, if I ever get to meet him, we are going to have several long conversations about this last weekend.
I hope your fall days are going better than mine. (Maybe I am lucky and getting all this yuck out of my system at one time? Ha, Ha – don’t be ridiculous!!)
All I need now is for one of the house cats to throw up, and I can pin a gold star on this week as the crappiest one this year.
This year has been crazy as far as finding “time” to get things done.
The normal time users are in operation:
Watering the gardens
Weeding the gardens
Feeding and tending to the critters
This year, however, we have been bomb-barded with the unexpected:
Major, constant rain fall. Yes, this helps with the watering issues – but – it has caused Kaos in the weeding process. I live in an arid area, not a swamp. Our soil (lucky us!) is a great sandy-loam so most everything grows well. This does include the weeds. Some areas are taller than me which ticks me off. I just can’t keep up with all of them this year.
I always start my Christmas shopping right after Christmas. I get ideas from listening to family and friends at our annual Christmas party. I decided to create three Afghans this year – oh silly me!! Most of my yarnie projects are done within a few hours, days or weeks; not Afghans. They take time and I really got wild with them this year. I decided to do my first one WITHOUT A PATTERN – EEEEKKK – WHAT WAS I THINKGING??!! The other two are specials with a theme to them. Both the patterns are driving me crazy. I don’t like it when a pattern is several pages long and keeps you flipping from one page, back to another. It gets very hard to follow.
The winds have been nuts! Yes, we do get wind in Colorado, but not normally so much and so steady during the summer. Our summers are usually dry and calm. Yes, we can get tornados, and we have survived a couple, but those are not the norm. We have piles of sheet metal ripped off of our barn roofs that need to be replaced before winter. Trees have been uprooted from the heavy rains (makes the root areas too soft), and the strong winds. They now need to be cut down and piled for our fire pit and/or local friends to use in their fire pits, grills or fireplaces.
The extra moisture has also brought out grasshoppers-from-hell. These monsters are the size of old B-movie creatures – HUGE I TELL YOU, HUGE!!!! I had one land on my arm during weeding, and I thought it was a bird – eeek!!! Two major bugs I hate in summer are grasshoppers and cabbage moths. They can destroy crops in days or sometimes in hours. Tomato Horn Worms can easily be picked off and moved to a non-tomato area (love their transition to a Five-Spotted Hawk Moth) to continue their growth (Milk Weed Plants are great for this). The large moth is awesome to see flying around.
We start planning our garden plots in late fall. I keep track during the previous year(s) on what worked and what did not. Then we check our seeds and see what needs to be purchased (usually newbies because we save seeds on everything we can). I also order more grasshopper flakes (They eat flakes. They die. Other hoppers eat the dead hoppers, and they die – great stuff) in the fall because by spring it’s all gone. We finally broke down and bought a great 4-tier seed start setup. Grow lights, heat mats, and even fans. We used it for the first time this last spring and were shocked to see how fast things grew. This next year I will have to tie my sister down, so she does not try to start everything so early again. The set up can handle things up to about 6-inches tall, past that they are falling all over each other. I had several tangled messes to untangle before placing them in the outdoor plots.
It will be interesting to see if next year will also be so weather crazy or not.
I am a creator, and I am lost. I get so overwhelmed with the daily happenings that I have not had time to even step into my craft room (yes, I am in tears). My crafts have been calling to me – LOUDLY! I know that they all miss me, too. I used to drift into my favorite room and get lost in there all day (sometimes several days – oops-haha).
I have my yarnie stuffs that can keep me busy, but they are all for Christmas gifts right now and not as enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE making stuff for loved ones for Christmas, but I have several other crafts I am longing for.
Card making
Beading & jewelry
Calligraphy
Drawing
Watercolor painting
Each of the above creativities pulls from my heart and soul. I put meticulous moments into all that I do with them. To me, they are my more creative endeavors.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love my yarnie creations, but they all start with a pattern. I say “start with” because I inevitably tweak almost every pattern I come across. I thank the original creators for their awesome ideas, but it’s in my nature to make adjustments that just work better to me or for me.
When I am in my craft room (fyi – no yarnie stuff in there at all – not allowed!), my imagination soars!!
Lately, too many things have kept me away:
First, it was massive rains – I mean flooding downpours.
Can’t mow when it’s that wet, so had to hold off on that (yep, that came back to bite me in the butt).
Then, a major heat wave. I am talking 100+ degrees – OUCH! This, of course, caused the weeds to run amok.
Heat wave plus weeds equals more gardening requirements.
Special watering routine that now takes about 5-6 hours per day.
Special weeding to keep the bindweed away from the veggies.
Special pest control – the grasshoppers and cabbage moths are out of control!
I do have things we have done and installed this year to help:
Special driplines everywhere we can.
Natural grasshopper killer – only interests them and no other bugs (my ladybugs, mantis, and lace wings are safe). We used to be able to order it online from a place in Montana (Planet Natural), but they changed hands, and with it, of course, went the good stuff. I did find a very similar item online, but it has to be ordered in the middle of winter because by spring, it’s sold out.
Light cover cloth to keep the cabbage moths at bay.
We also installed five new plots this year to better target garden areas instead of having to handle a massive area.
Even with all the upgrades and helpful items, much of my day is still shot. Noonish equals lunch and then the household chores: dishes, trash, setups for the next day, everyday day-to-day necessities. By now, it is late afternoon and relaxing before bed (a whole other disaster-trying actually to sleep). This is not the moment to try to pull out a creative mind. This is also the time the yarn projects get worked on. I can easily watch TV, relax, and work on a project without having to review the pattern continually. Once I have the pattern down, it’s stuck.
That is one thing about being a yarnie I am thankful for, no-brainer pattern work.
So, back to my original question: Are you a lost creator too? What do you do to survive?
We are not getting our normal Colorado weather. Lately, trying to garden is looking more like this:
Just trying to get to the gardens takes half the day. Then it rains hard, and it all starts over again. I am assuming the actual veggies we have in the plots are doing well:
The general population has no clue what it takes to create good, fresh food. Some days it is as hard as this:
Most days (when we have our normal weather and seasons) it is like this:
Gardening really is therapeutic for me. We have an agreement with a Honey Bee Farmer, so every year we have tons of bees all around. On occasion, one will land on my hand or arm and rest for a moment. I love it when that happens because it feels like everything is right in my world. Even if the rest of the world is in turmoil, for a brief moment in time, it’s all OK.
I just realized it has been over a year since I last posted here – SHAME ON ME!
My world, in general, has been all messed up. Such is life! My problem is me.
I have to work hard to keep myself out of “funk,” and it’s a disaster when I fail. When I get my funk on, I get angry and deeply depressed and want to crawl off into a corner and disappear.
The world has become so messed up and angry, and I have allowed it to affect me in all the worst possible ways.
When you are someone who has depression, you have to watch yourself and the things around you all the time. Usually, when I start to feel like I want to crawl into a closet and hide, that’s a pretty good sign to stop myself and breathe. Deep breathing helps me a lot, but not always. My real go-to cure is my crafting.
I have several different crafts that I enjoy:
Knitting
Crochet
Handmade cards (love this!!)
Beading
Embroidery
Sewing (still working on this one, not my favorite, but getting better)
Painting (right now, the thrill is watercolors)
And, of course, gardening
I can’t concentrate on gardening during the wrong time of year. We used to have a vast greenhouse, so it was easy to carry it all year. The damn tornado took the roof (double-layer plastic) right off. A dear friend helped us to build it, and it was brilliant to have us use a 3-foot-deep cement and rebar base and then connect the metal ribs to that strong base. The base is still perfect, but it has been a struggle to buy a new cover. When we originally built it, no one would insure it (should have checked into that BEFORE construction – then start stashing). So, when the wind blew, so did the roof, and now, it has been a slow haul to save up enough to recover.
I just need to remember to pull up my big girl panties and get on with it!
Right from 1-1-23, things got off to a horrible start. We had snow – not the typical dump and gone that we usually get in the plains of Colorado. No, it dumped and kept on dumping. Then the Wicket Wind Witch of the West started putting her two cents in, and drift-ola started. Of course, she had to create the worst drifts wherever we had to drive on our property: driveway, critter barns, trash bin sites.
I was down to my last year of payment on my car. I thought I had January, February, and then March, which would be the final. Nope! They called it all in at once in January, $900+ total. SURPRISE!
Water was backing up in the basement when we did the washing machine. Our thought was a plugged line in the house, so we rented a drain snake to no avail. Next was Del-Mar Septic Service. He came out quickly, considering they were way overbooked, but our drifts would soon aid in his overbooking. The last time we had the tank pumped, it was late summer, and the turn the big truck had to make by the barn was no problem. The drifts said no way, and the Wicked Wind Witch laughed. He didn’t just get stuck in a drift then back out – noooo – he was stuck from about 11 am until a 2nd truck showed up after 2 pm and pulled him loose (yes, we tried digging, boards, rags, nothing would unstick the truck on its own). He finally pumped our tank while the 2nd driver was nice and waited. I have to shout out a huge kudos to the company!! Even with all the madness that happened, they only billed us for what they originally quoted – woo hoo! We will be recommending them to all septic systems we know. Total $350.
Snow after snow after snow and not just a little, nope, it was bomb cyclone after blizzard after our most awful: a nor-easter. When the winds circle back around from the east, we ALWAYS get the worst storms. It doesn’t matter what time of year or what type of storm it is; it will be more intense and dangerous coming back from the east. This was definitely not our average start to a year.
Our drainage issue was not over. It started backing up into the basement again. BIG TIME!?! We called in our outstanding Plumber, and he realized (in only about 15 minutes) that we had a frozen line. (Side FYI: Scientists claimed that the earth’s inner core stopped rotating in 2009, and it was finally getting around to reversing. Apparently, this is a “thing” and can assist in our climate issues. WHO KNEW?!?) He referred us to a great couple of guys with a massive steamer truck. They came out, ran a like to our septic outside tap, and shoved it up our drain pipe. Then they turned up the heat and steam blasted our line for about an hour. Their snake hose also has a little rotary cutting wheel on the end where the water comes out so they can feel when it broke everything loose. Finally, CLEAR LINE – WOO HOO! Total for Plumber and truck: $650.
Our propane service showed up. The guy came and knocked on the door (unusual). When I answered, he asked, “ Do you have heat?” It surprised me a bit, but I answered yes. Then I asked why. He said the tank showed EMPTY. WHAT???? I usually check the guage on it a couple of times a year, especially in the late fall, but I had forgotten to do that. I also assumed we were still on the “keep full” program they offered several years ago. Apparently, the original owners sold this area to a local guy, and no one said a word. He had enough in his tank to fill us to 80%. Total $1200 (ouch again – and this was only the middle of March)
We got notice from our mortgage company that escrows had gone up again, and now we must pay an extra $150 monthly. (April)
My sister lost a crown on her tooth and had to get that fixed immediately. The total is $1000 (May now), and no, her insurance did not cover all of the expenses. This 1K was our portion.)
Our wonderful John Deere Lawn Tractor decided to pull nasties right when the rains finally ended (end of June). Then the drive belt decided to slip off right in the middle of mowing the big field – shit! The damn thing didn’t even have the decency to break, nope, it just slipped off the front drive wheel. OF COURSE, THE FRONT WHEEL – most complicated to get back on to. I tried, and tried, and tried again for all of July. I couldn’t get the damn nut to let go of the bolt. I watched several YouTube videos, which were helpful enough to make me understand what was going on but not enough to figure out how a woman of 60+ years old with six major joint surgeries and osteoarthritis could remove the stupid nut! Finally, I broke down and asked a dear friend if he had a minute and could come to take a look at it. It only took him about 10 minutes from start to finish to get that ugly little so-an-so belt back on and my beautiful JD back up and running. He did not charge (because he is a friend), but we paid in cookies for him and his family anyway. Total expenses for June were about $200 and July was about $500. The July thing was mainly because my grandson (now almost 15)was out to visit, and our food expenses always go up when he is out. This was extra because we felt it would be his last (yes, there were tears).
The GMC sensor went out. Then headlight bulb (s-we replace both at the same time). We had to use a mechanic for the sensor, so that was another $200+. Oh, and monsoons kicked in late August (WTF!?!). Sure, I didn’t have to do much watering this year, but I can’t get the weeds under control either. On August 21, we hit 100 degrees – OUCH. It’s not normal for out here either. It never ceases to amaze me that we can get tons of snow and rain, but the slightest winds during or after it will equal dry plants – go figure!
My sister’s job had a significant cutback in hours due to a lack of sales. That gave us 3-day weekends to get some bigger projects done together, but it also cost us about $100 per week loss. This went on for over a month.
I went in for my annual physical, and they called and said they found something in my blood draw. I needed to return to the hospital ASAP for a 2nd draw (YES, PANIC SETS IN). They also decided to do a bone density scan simultaneously – great. I’m glad I got my COVID shot because I came down with that right after the scan (blame it on the hospital – haha), but it was not as bad as the first time I had it in February 2020—good news: both tests came back ok. I was low on potassium, but that was my fault. I have had issues with that since my surgeries in 2014 and have been taking supplements. I ran out about two weeks before the blood draw, which caused a follow-up. Total loss this month, about $500.
Another lousy storm with HUGE hail came through. It took out the greenhouse door window (that was a bummer, but ok since the 2018 tornado took the roof and we have not had money to replace it yet) and then punched two considerable holes in our big gray shed roof. REALLY?!? It couldn’t have just hit the side of the barn and bounced – no – it had to punch holes in the roof the size of softballs. There is too much going on to get up there and fix it, so there is no idea of the cost of the damages yet. It’s just going to have to wait until spring 2024. The GMC went back into the shop one more time. This time, she won’t stay running, and if you are driving and stop (like to get gas), she won’t start back up again. WE FINALLY GOT A BREAK (November now), it was a faulty sensor (they initially replaced it several months ago), and it was all covered under warranty – WOO HOO!!! Oh, wait, I spoke too soon. During that last hail storm, the GMC windshield got a big smack on it – spider shoots immediately (just lucky it didn’t break through)… Oh well, there goes another $500+.
Overall, we ended the year with massive expenses and massive depression. 2023 SUCKED!
For the first time since we moved here (2000), we did not start any seeds.
I know. I know. Say it isn’t so, but it is. I don’t know if it is the weather (been just nuts), the scary state of the world (nut-bag in Russia), or my age (just say no), but something is really off whack this year. If you follow my blog(s), you may have noticed that this is my first post FOR THE YEAR – SHOCKER!! I did not even realize this until I titled this post. I keep all of them because I am a writer at heart. These are my stories of me, and I was dumbfounded to see that this was my first of the year – what is wrong with me?
I think I have to blame it on the weather (or climate) because I have not seen any of our spring flowers yet, and it is almost May. The leaf buds on the lilacs and honeysuckle are just now showing up – so not normal! I did get a minor reprieve last weekend when I heard all the frogs singing in our pond. Their music did bring on a brief moment of spring excitement.
I almost forgot; I simply went to burn some of our trash in our burn barrel and accidentally set our south field on fire. Our fantastic local volunteer Firemen were all over it, and there was (thank God) NO WIND! My sister and I were looking at that field now and were impressed at how green it was. So I think I got a bit of a boost seeing that even that dried-out field can come back to life.
We decided to just go with seeds right in the ground this year. The drought, the fires in our state, the crappy air (mainly smoke from all the fires and the dry dirt flying in the winds), and the battles over water have convinced us to cut way back this year on our gardens. I will keep cleaning them up and tending when needed, but the water is the biggest fear. I want to keep our trees going (fruit and others), and I want to start some new herbs in the herb garden, but watering this year is tough. We have our own well (a bit of good news), but we are also very conservative in its use.
It is too late for our regular early cold crops (broccoli, cabbage, etc.), but I can put in some root crops that we can, dehydrate, or freeze. Our pantry is pretty full of veggies. We purchased half of beef from our friendly local natural grower, so we have a freezer full of that. We will be helping our other friendly local natural grower butcher their chickens later this year, which will take up another part of our 2nd freezer. I have been trying to buy extras of things like flour, sugar, and salt, but the price of everything has gone nuts this year. (Don’t get me started on the gas!)
Our final decision is to grow less, use less water, use more of what we already have (duh – we store it for a rainy-day situation, and this is one of those days.), relax and remember what mom used to say:
This too shall pass.
Dang, don’t ya just hate it when mom is right! I’m pretty sure she is up in heaven yelling “I told you so” at us right now. And life goes on.
I love remembering things from my childhood. The best ones are the rare ones that a unique smell, sight, or sound recalls. This cart is just a prop for a local business, but it is exactly like one we had as kids with our horses:
We had a black and white spotted Welsh pony named Dolly. She was a brat. It was obvious that she had been abused by people somewhere in her life, but now she was with us, and ALL of our critters were spoiled rotten (even the ones we would eventually eat – eek-haha!). Well-fed. Plenty of pasture room to roam. Beautiful barn for housing everyone from the harsh Wisconsin winters (we were not far from Lake Michigan, and the winter winds off the lake are brutal). We worked all summer long to store enough food for our critters, ourselves, and some friends and relatives. We had some new neighbors move into the small home across the road, and they had three young boys – about our age.
Once we got to know them, they realized that we played like boys even though we were girls. Mud was a blast. Getting into stuff we were not supposed to was classic. Then there were our horses which was an instant draw for all kids.
The folks splurged on a 2-wheeled little cart (just like the pic above) for us to try to train Dolly to pull. Keep in mind, most of our training was self-taught. They got us a good harness, taught us the basics, and then we had at it. When the boys next door found out, they could not wait to get up on it.
Jeffie (the youngest of the three boys) ran up to the cart all excited and was not paying attention to what he was grabbing ahold of to try to get up. He placed his hand on the wheel instead of the seat, then pony leached forward (because she was a brat – remember?); his hand slipped in between the spokes and got caught on the edge of the seat, thus breaking his arm.
We ran him back home at once, and his folks took him to the doctor. He came home with a cast that had to stay on most of the summer. It never slowed down his wanting to get on the wagon, ride a horse, or just play with us.
The best part of remembering this story now is that no attorneys, lawsuits, courts, or any of the nowadays B.S. usually happens. It was just kids playing, and it was an ACCIDENT! Yes, accidents really did happen back then. Apparently, there is no such thing as an accident anymore?!? Our parents even offered to pay the doctor bill, but the neighbors would not hear of it – “they were just being kids.”, was their reply.
Isn’t it funny, the things you thought were long forgotten, then a simple something like seeing a cart can bring them all back?
Colorado weather can be very different than most places. We never know what is coming over the mountains or which way it is going to flow. I have built up a pretty good sense of when to plant our starts and when to put in seeds, but not this year. It’s been a mess in more ways than one.
I am used to wet Marches, wild weather ups-and-downs in April, and then “get-it-in” Mays. This year has been snow, winds, wet and wet, and WET. I swear I am back in Wisconsin, and I didn’t know I was planning on a move?
IT’S GREEN!
Yes, Colorado does get green in the spring, but it is usually the fields, gardens, and lawns that get irrigation that the green appears. This year I am hard-pressed to find a non-green spot. We are supposed to be a higher altitude, arid, and much drier area – WHAT HAPPENED? I blame it on climate change since that has been messing up tons of places over the last several years. It’s either that or Mother Nature is really pissed off at us now. Even our poor crop farmers have had a hell of a time just trying to plant their typical fields. Everything is mud! FYI, tractors and mud do NOT mix.
Since our greenhouse lost its cover from the tornado, the plots have been susceptible to the weather, and right now, it’s a forest. We even have a ground cover base under all our plots, but the grasses and weeds have gotten too much rain support to slow down. Now the wonderful world of weather is telling us to expect close to 90degrees this Saturday. SATURDAY? With 80s in between. Great. Put some majorly intense sun and heat onto those already crazy weeds and grasses, and it will be time to dig out mazes to find the plots.
Oh, and part of my job during all this moisture was to figure out where all the leaks are in our buildings, then try to plug them – hahaha. It was easy to see where it was leaking, but not so easy to find a dry day to get out (or on top) and fix them. Now that we will have drier weather, I have become a hurry up and get it done Lady. Sure. Two fake knees, 1-1/2 fake shoulders, one fake foot, ½ an index finger, and osteoarthritis up the wazoo – YOU GO GIRL! Not! If anyone tries to tell me that my joints don’t feel the changes in the weather, I will pop them in the nose.
This old body got used to the dry, arid, comfortability of our beautiful Colorado. Now every step I take and every move I make has a corresponding snap, crackle, or pop to it. Oh, and let’s not discuss the getting down and trying to get back up again situation (yes, my dear friends who have seen me do this in action, you may laugh hysterically now), shall we.
So Wisconsin, you can have your floody spring back. I want my dryer Colorado and I am not willing to compromise!
I am leaving you in this post with a perfect picture that my cousin sent me. It totally sums up this spring for me:
I just opened another email about food, and I have had it! Why are all of these beautiful dishes designed for master cooks? Shaved asparagus salad – really?!
I love asparagus but NEVER thought of shaving it. I didn’t know it was that hairy. Are they just talking about a trim or remove the entire beard – and where is it?
Seriously, who has the time, techniques, and of course, tools to make all this stuff? If I can’t put it all together in one bowl and in less than thirty minutes, it ain’t gonna happen!
I don’t mind cooking or baking; I just don’t like to spend a ton of time on it. My sister, on the other hand, finds it her perfect hobby. Now, I don’t envy her or her hobby; but why am I always the taste tester? No wonder I can’t lose any weight. I will do great all week, and then she turns into a bake-a-holic on the weekend, and all I just lost comes back to visit – grr!
I love Martha Stewart’s stuff, and I know that once-upon-a-time in her life, she was a fabulous cook. That is how she became who she is and KUDOS to her for it. I, however, do not have that passion. I am thrilled with myself when I can make pizza pockets with my sandwich maker:
layout already made bread,
fill it with something,
put the top piece on,
close the lid and ta-da, sandwich!
That is my gourmet cooking ability. I like to make homemade fudge and angel food candy at Christmas. I also have an excellent recipe for homemade granola, and ratatouille and that is about it. Everything else better be a mix, can, or noodle dish, or it won’t get done. I have begone experimenting with slow cookers and insta-pots. So far, so good. I like the idea of just throwing it all into one pot, turn it on, and let it go. No muss, no fuss!
So, here’s to the not-so-great cooks out there that agree with me. I love to eat. I just hate to mess with it. Oh, and my most favorite way to get my food is fresh from our gardens. Nothing better than pulling a fresh tomato or cuc right from the vine and munching – yum!
HELBERG FARM STORIES 