Life

IS THIS WAY COOL OR WHAT?

/ helbergfarmstories / 1 Comment

I was around for the last big one but was not so close to its path of observance before.  The total solar eclipse!  Here in Colorado, it is supposed to be a spectacular show this time around.

I think this is a really cool thing, and I hope that all of the schools (especially the younger grades) will allow the students to watch it.  My grandson will be starting third grade on Monday – the day of the eclipse.  I do know that a bunch of schools have purchased the special glasses for the students and they do have plans to have them attend the event.

solar eclipse

This bit of trivia came across my email this morning:

What Folklore Tells Us About Eclipses

It was so interesting that I just wanted to share it with you.  I especially liked how the NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller described it:  “The sky starts to get cool and dark, a couple minutes before totality. And all of your instincts, all of a sudden, start to freak out. Something’s going wrong. . . . There’s this deep basic panic that sets in as the whole world changes in a way it’s not supposed to. All of a sudden it feels like you’re standing on another planet.”
Now, how cool is that?!?  Too bad it’s not falling on a Friday the 13th as well!  We could all then turn into freakazoids – LOL!

I love folklore, old wives’ tales, and any other bits of trivia from the past.  The best part about them all now is that if you spend some time on the net, you can find out how, where, and when most of them came to be.

My mother (and her side of the family) were notorious for this stuff.

  • Bad news comes in 3’s
  • Drop a spoon and company is coming
  • If your nose itches, you will kiss a fool (ya, done that one too many times!)
  • If your right ear is ringing, someone is talking good about you.
  • If your left ear is ringing, someone is talking bad about you.

These and so many more were a huge part of my growing up.  I also remember her and my Aunts and some of their friends all gathering for séance.  As kids growing up in the 1960’s, this was way cool.  Mind you that NONE of the men participated (no imagination, LOL).  I remember that a year before she died, her sister came to visit.  Mom insisted that we had to visit her Psychic.  I do not remember her name, but I will never forget the trip.

I was never much of a believer in all this, but it was fun to do never-the-less.  Sissy (mom’s sister/my aunt) went first.  Then mom.  Then me.  Now, from my own experiences with all this, they NEVER tell you bad news.  Warnings or omens but they were always vague.  This visit was not vague.

She invited me into her private room and closed the door behind us – normal.

She then took my hand and said:“Prepare yourself, your mother will not live another year.” WHAT????!!!!

Totally threw me for a loop!  She went on to say that I am the strong one in the family and I will help the others to get through it all.

DAMN – that darn woman was right!

Roughly ten months later mom died in my arms.

-WOW-

The trip was two months before mom went into her final surgery.  Her cancer had been reduced to a small node on her liver.  They performed a new freezing procedure on her that ended up freezing a major part of her liver.  Nothing further to do.  February of the following year she was gone.

I am a more “logical” mind person so to me she may have seen the signs that mom was pale.  Looked tired, and maybe, in their visit, mom had shared her ill feelings.  But, for this Psychic to flat out tell me this was astounding!

I still trust in science.  I do know for a fact that there is a reason for everything.  But I am humble enough to believe that there are some things in the universe that you just cannot explain in simple terms.  I do not ever want to know the meaning of life as you would ask from God.  I chose to believe that I was put here to help others.  I love to make people laugh – at me, at themselves, at life in general.  So, if this little story of mine gave you a bit of a giggle, my work here is done!

Have a nice day!

(Oh, and enjoy the eclipse!)

(If you enjoyed this bit of humor, please feel free to visit my latest blog: Life Lessons Lived  to get more laughter in your life!)

IS THIS WAY COOL OR WHAT?
I was around for the last big one but was not so close to its path of observance before. The total solar eclipse! Here in Colorado, it is supposed to be a spectacular show this time around.
I think this is a really cool thing, and I hope that all of the schools (especially the younger grades) will allow the students to watch it. My grandson will be starting third grade on Monday – the day of the eclipse. I do know that a bunch of schools have purchased the special glasses for the students and they do have plans to have them attend the event.

This bit of trivia came across my email this morning:
What Folklore Tells Us About Eclipses
It was so interesting that I just wanted to share it with you. I especially liked how the NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller described it: “The sky starts to get cool and dark, a couple minutes before totality. And all of your instincts, all of a sudden, start to freak out. Something’s going wrong. . . . There’s this deep basic panic that sets in as the whole world changes in a way it’s not supposed to. All of a sudden it feels like you’re standing on another planet.”

Now, how cool is that?!? Too bad it’s not falling on a Friday the 13th as well! We could all then turn into freakazoids – LOL!
I love folklore, old wives’ tales, and any other bits of trivia from the past. The best part about them all now is that if you spend some time on the net, you can find out how, where, and when most of them came to be.
My mother (and her side of the family) were notorious for this stuff.
• Bad news comes in 3’s
• Drop a spoon and company is coming
• If your nose itches, you will kiss a fool (ya, done that one too many times!)
• If your right ear is ringing, someone is talking good about you.
• If your left ear is ringing, someone is talking bad about you.
These and so many more were a huge part of my growing up. I also remember her and my Aunts and some of their friends all gathering for séance. As kids growing up in the 1960’s, this was way cool. Mind you that NONE of the men participated (no imagination, LOL). I remember that a year before she died, her sister came to visit. Mom insisted that we had to visit her Psychic. I do not remember her name, but I will never forget the trip.
I was never much of a believer in all this, but it was fun to do never-the-less. Sissy (mom’s sister/my aunt) went first. Then mom. Then me. Now, from my own experiences with all this, they NEVER tell you bad news. Warnings or omens but they were always vague. This visit was not vague.
She invited me into her private room and closed the door behind us – normal.
She then took my hand and said:

“Prepare yourself, your mother will not live another year.” WHAT????!!!!

Totally threw me for a loop! She went on to say that I am the strong one in the family and I will help the others to get through it all.
DAMN – that darn woman was right!
Roughly ten months later mom died in my arms.

-WOW-

The trip was two months before mom went into her final surgery. Her cancer had been reduced to a small node on her liver. They performed a new freezing procedure on her that ended up freezing a major part of her liver. Nothing further to do. February of the following year she was gone.
I am a more “logical” mind person so to me she may have seen the signs that mom was pale. Looked tired, and maybe, in their visit, mom had shared her ill feelings. But, for this Psychic to flat out tell me this was astounding!
I still trust in science. I do know for a fact that there is a reason for everything. But I am humble enough to believe that there are some things in the universe that you just cannot explain in simple terms. I do not ever want to know the meaning of life as you would ask from God. I chose to believe that I was put here to help others. I love to make people laugh – at me, at themselves, at life in general. So, if this little story of mine gave you a bit of a giggle, my work here is done!

Have a nice day!

goofy smile face (Oh, and enjoy the eclipse!)

(If you enjoyed this bit of humor, please feel free to visit my latest blog: Life Lessons Lived to get more laughter in your life!)
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WHERE DO YOU DO “IT” AT?

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Ok, most of you – get out of the gutter! I am talking about food processing here.
We have such a nice new house with outstanding new porches that it would be a shame not to use them every chance we get.
Well, the food processing season has come upon us once again. This time around we decided to do the messiest parts of the job outside whenever possible. The beginning project is beets.
Those of you have (and love) done up pickled beets know just how messy they get. The red in them, I swear, could dye the roughest of materials! With having such a beautiful, huge, new kitchen; the last thing we wanted to do was dye areas with bits of the red mess. Thus our decision to process them outside.
The cooking was done inside as that is easy enough to maintain, but the peeling and cutting are definitely done outside.
I sit on one side of the 8’x8’ area:

8-4 my fav process spot

My sister sits on the other:

8-4 d fav process spot

(Her delicate butt gets the extra chair pad – so not fair as mine is rutabaga style and deserves more!)
We have our garden tool box, music, some plants that will go back into the house come fall, and of course a place to set our drinks. The pics here are when we enjoy the area the most – early morning!
There is a yellow bug light bulb in the porch light to keep most of them at bay. The fun part is when we turn on the south door light (a regular 60-watt bulb), it will draw up all kinds of critters. The critters find their way to the front yard, and we can view them comfortably from our perch.
The honeysuckle is just past the porch which attracts some really cool critters: humming birds, humming bird moths, during the day we get a variety of bees and butterflies. I think I prefer the night ones; they are usually more interesting.
Once we have the base steps done in the house, it is time to venture to the veranda:

8-5 how we process foods-beets

If you look close at the bottom, you can see one of our many un-requested helpers doing what they normally do – sleep (animals!?). Also, note how smart my sister is! She remembered to put on her latex gloves BEFORE beginning – woo hoo smartie! We purchased boxes of the disposable things specifically for the beets and hot peppers. Now we need to have some type of auto-reminder not to touch your face when you are processing foods as you will end up with pepper juice in the eyes, and very pretty red dye streaks all over your face and neck (yes, been there, done that!).

If you enjoyed this (and maybe laughed a bit), then please check out my new blog: Life Lessons Lived where I share more bits and pieces of my humoristic life!

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PLOWSHARE THURSDAY – PREVENTION GEAR!

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Hi, guys!  Sorry, I have not been keeping up with things, but if you read my last post, you know why.  This Plow Share is to tell you more about my new favorite best friend in the garden – the head cover.

bug net cover (This one is from Amazon – under $5)

I originally found these things years ago and purchased them through a sporting goods website.  Oh, silly me!  I guess at the time the only reason for one was when you went fishing.  It kept all the water bugs off your face while you fished.

Well, times have changes sister, and we need these everywhere!

At first, it was just the tiny gnats that were bothering me while watering.  Then came the black flies and their nasty bites as the weather warmed.  Of course, we cannot forget the mosquito and all its plagues.

If you read my last post, then you know (and saw) the reasons why this is now my new best garden friend!  I have gotten bit or stung on several parts of my body (mainly arms and legs but there has been the occasional buttox when I bend over) with very little reaction.  I was even bitten by a Brown Recluse which has left a nasty scar, but my great immune system held it at bay.  I have never had a severe allergic reaction to anything until now.  The funny part is that it was the cure and not the cause that had the bad reaction.

brown recluse    (FYI you are supposed to spot the “fiddle” on its back?!)

I consider myself very lucky in the fact that it never affected my lungs.  My breathing throughout all of this remained normal, as did my blood pressure – go figure?!  My doctors and I boiled it down to the fact that the sting was on my face (never happened with a wasp before – or a bee).  Apparently, the thin skin (who would have thought I have “thin” anything – ha ha), gave the poison a perfect reaction area.

So, my share this week is to also warn – GET YOUR GEAR ON!  I do not use bug spray on my head area (a weird thing I have about chemicals and my face), but this head screen gear is a Godsend to gardeners!  It may have been created just for fish folks – but herbivore’s like it too!

WHEN TROUBLE COMES IN THREES WHAT CAN YOU DO?

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I started this post but got too wordy. So, instead, I am going to tell you a story.

Once upon a time, there was a young, old woman who loved to garden. She loved the seeds, the starts, the transplanting and even the weeding.

This young, old woman was so into her gardens that she did not mind if a bee landed on her to say hi or rest. It did not make her flinch to come across a spider the size of a silver dollar while working away. Even the surprise toad or snake did not deter her from her daily visits to the natural beauty.
lady and a bee
Then one week she had the terrible three’s visit her.
First: She ran into the turkey door latch and severely bruised her upper arm (which just happened to be right by her first major surgery: Reverse rotator cuff replacement).

Second: She tripped over the mat by the front yard garden gate and fell on her left side ribs. This caused her to take her breath away, and she was very sore, but still able to go on.

Then, late Friday afternoon that week the terrible third struck. While humming one of her favorite songs and weeding the front yard patio, she heard a buzzing sound by her right ear. The dreaded black biting flies had been around all afternoon, but she would put on a bit more bug repellant, and they would leave her alone. She believed it was just another fly, so she raised her hand to shew it away. Little did she realize at that moment she was irritating a wasp!

The monster stung her right by her right ear – on the face. She again did not flinch as she assumed it was the black fly. The evening went on as a normal Friday game night, but she realized that the right side of her face was very hot and kind of itchy.
On Saturday morning, she realized that her right eye seemed a bit blocked. Taking her normal morning trip to the bathroom, she glanced into the mirror and was shocked! The whole right side of her face was swollen. She now realized that it was not a black fly that stunk her – it was her old nemesis the wasp!

Then by Sunday morning, the swelling was growing across her face. Having been stung many times before (mind you there was NEVER a serious allergic reaction – EVER!) she simply took some aspirin, grabbed an ice pack and proceeded to place it on and off her face all the rest of that day.

Monday morning came, and the swelling was still getting worse, so she decided she had better visit her local hospital ER. Upon arriving and being all checked in, the doctor prescribed prednisone – 20 mg which is a type of steroid. She immediately went to her friendly pharmacy and filled the prescription. As soon as she got back into her car, she took the first pill.

Later Monday afternoon her head felt as if it was on fire. She was heating up but chilled, and everything (including her hair) had a burning itch which she was told not to scratch. That night she felt flu-like symptoms: Fever, chills, and a possible need to throw up.

Tuesday morning, she was the size of a party balloon! The swelling was not going down but seemed to be getting worse. Her eyes were so swollen she could not even see her beloved computer to write her thoughts. She took the 2nd pill.

balloon head

Wednesday was, even more, worse than Tuesday, but she took the 3rd of the four pills. Completely miserable, she could not sleep that night. Luckily the ER Doctor did tell her to schedule a follow-up appointment with her regular Doctor within 4-days. She had done so and was to see her doctor on the next morning.

Thursday morning came, and she did NOT take the last pill (by now it had dawned on her that the steroid and she were not in agreement!) and headed off to her doctor.
Once the Doctor took one look at her she knew – this was some type of allergic attack. Her Doctor proceeded to call over to her Pharmacist an order of Claritin and Zantac (prescription level) and over-the-counter Benadryl.

The young, old woman got safely back home and immediately started the routine of meds. By that same evening the burning, itching all over her head had ceased! Saturday morning she would see out of the left eye, but it was still fairly swollen. It took a full 10-days for all the bad steroid reaction to mellow out.

The moral of this young, old woman’s story:

Use the damn head nets you bought three years ago stupid!
(See Plow Share Thursday for more info.)

alergy pic 1 6-10    alergy pic 2 6-15

alergy-pic-3-6-17.jpg    alergy pic 4 6-26 all better

All better!

Friday Funny: Ballet – OR – Did you catch that mouse?

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Once upon a time, there was a little girl with very curly dark hair that loved to run and jump and play.  She had a horse to ride, dogs to run with, and a sister to get into trouble with.  Alas, this beautiful little girl was a klutz!

Her mother was full off cute old-fashioned sayings to explain her clumsiness in a way that would not make her feel sad or embarrassed:

  • “Keep doing that with your eyes and they will stay that way.” (After she would walk into the door because she had her eyes crossed.)
  • “Did you catch that mouse?“ (After she would trip and fall.)
  • “Here, you want to fight so bad, just take this butter knife and do it!” (After she and her sister got caught fighting – again!) (FYI: All they ever did was stare blankly from their mom to the knife, then to each other.  Sometimes it would end up in a mock sword fight.)

Well, that pretty young girl grew up to be a crusty, broken, old lady that still never watched where she was going.  This dizzy broad could not even pick up her feet high enough to get over a simple gate mat. 

gateway mat  (Take a good look at the cinder block in the top center)

Trip – slow motion fall – full body slam into the brick patio, iron arch entry frame, and of course planting her left side ribs squarely on top of a busted cinder block.  Her aim is impeccable!

5-6-17 bruised ribs (2)  Bruised Ribs (never had this before)

6-6 bruised knee Bloody and bruised knee – right by the replacement (because apparently a full replacement was not painful enough!).

 6-6 finger smash n tear (2)Ripped bloody finger from who knows what (thinking I may have tried to catch myself and missed?).

So, today’s lesson kids: 

Is it considered “ballet” if you spin as you fall, or can you use the excuse of “I am trying to catch a mouse” when none is present? 

Of course, you first have to stop laughing at yourself to declare either.  (FYI – not laughing now, hurts too much – boo hoo!)

NEED SOME HELP? PLOWSHARE THURSDAY:

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Those of you that have never been fortunate enough to live on a farm, plowshare (according to Merriam-Webster definition) is a part of a plow that cuts the furrow.  It cuts through the old stale gunk that may be devoid of any nutritional value and gets to the good stuff.  Starting this Thursday – May 25, 2017 – I am going to try to plowshare with you, my friends, family, and readers.

First and foremost, I want to make clear is I do not get paid for sharing this information!  I have no connection to any of my finds except that I approve of them because I use them and they work.  I only want to share the things that we personally do or use.  If some part of it didn’t work, I would share that too.

The subject today: Tomatoes.

tomato variety 2017

Since my blog is Helbergfarmstories, I will stick to the farm/gardens aspect of these shares. (I am developing a new blog just for human nature/survival items and will let you know when that is ready.)  The share for today is about growing the best natural tomatoes you can do at any place you have.

I love PBS (Public Broadcasting System), and our local station airs a show called Growing a Greener World.  I just finished watching Episode 803- Epic Tomatoes with Craig LeHoullier (dated by GGWTV on 4/29/17, but I tape all of them then sift through what we can use here in Colorado.).  I actually learned several new things and just couldn’t wait to share!

It is spring here in Colorado.  I have already put all of our seed starts from February into the greenhouse and outside gardens.  Since watching this program, I want to go back and do it all again.  I like to think that my sister and I know what we are doing (hahahaha – ok, stop laughing), but there is always something new to learn.  This was one of those “how could I have been so stupid for this long” moments.

The creator of the show, Joe Lamp’L, describes and share all the ins-and-outs of his garden (which, I must say looks pristine!?!), but he also interviews other influential people in the natural and organic gardening arenas.  Episode 803 what a hit and an eye-opener for me!

The first thing that caught my attention what the man he was out doing the interview on, got to name the “Cherokee Purple” tomato, which happens to be one of our most favorites!  Then I saw that he was doing most all of his gardening in his driveway!   WHAT??  Now we use pots, and plots, and rows, and have even grown in straw bales – but a driveway?  Well – IT WORKED!

The setup he has is amazing!  Everything from where and how he sows his seeds, to the layout in his driveway truly surprised me (not easy to do with this old lady!)!  Here we have been meticulously separating all our tiny little tomato seeds to carefully get only one in each little honeycomb space.  Now I see WE HAVE BEEN DOING IT ALL WRONG!!!

I fell in love with this guy’s methods and reasons for them!  However, I have a new problem…I want to do more!

  • I knew about pruning the tomato plants as they grow. Have known that one for decades.
  • I know about the value of the heirloom breeds also from experience. This experience was best proven by the taste method.

One year, about ten years ago, a good friend of ours decided to try his hand at growing heirloom tomatoes.  He builds a perfect setup in his heated garage and then proceeded to plant every single seed in the tomato packets AND about 20 different breeds of them.  This led to tomatoes coming out the windows – literally!  He didn’t know what to do with them all, but he knew we had much more room than he did.   Of course, we said we would take as much as he wanted to toss our way – oh silly us.

heirloom seed packets

We worked rigorously for several days straight to create our first two – hundred foot rows.  It was worth all the effort as we had no greenhouse at that time to extend the harvest.  Everything had to be done NOW – dig and weed the plots, put in the t-posts, hang the field fencing wires, layout the walkways around everything.  They were beautiful!

best tomato rows 2012

It was worth it!  That was the best Pico, salsa’s, and sauce’s that we ever made!  I also took it upon myself to taste-test every single one of those heirloom tomato breeds, and I quickly found my favorites.

  • The Cherokee Purple beat out my Black Krim (both are good, but the purple has a stronger flavor).
  • The Brandywine did not grow many (one more thing I learned, it is a heavy vine plant), but they carried a much sweeter flavor.
  • Then there was the Kellogg Yellow – less acidic so perfect for our friends that love tomatoes but can’t do the acid.

There was just so many different sizes, colors, flavors that I got lost in enjoying tomato salads all fall!  We froze and canned all that we could but gave away tons to others as well.

tomato salad

Episode 803 has now inspired me to revisit that year.  The fire took all my notebooks, but I still have great memories of it all.  This program also showed me some additional steps to help get the best tomatoes I can through the season, not just at the beginning.

I hope you all take a moment or two to watch it – well worth the time! Who knows, you may just learn something new?

never stop learning

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DO YOU STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES?

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Bad news.  Bad news.  Then more bad news.  I AM SOOO TIRED OF BAD NEWS!  I have started a new self-help campaign…seek out good news!  Here is one that I came across this week:

Love the smell of spring? Here’s where the season’s odors come from.

It was kind of sad and disgusting.  So I choose to turn it into a good thing.

I like to learn the scientific reason for the smells that I love (which was key to the above article), but I prefer my reasoning…it is because of my past.  Here are some examples:

A fresh cut hay field: This one catches me at the second it hits my nose (and it’s a big nose) and instantly throws me back to the 80-acre farm I grew up on.  It’s spring, and we have started the first of several cuttings to create bales for the winter ahead.  This follows with the families joining to bale the hay.  Kids playing in the hay, the fields, and with the horses.  Parents would gather in the shade of the large garage we had or maybe in the back yard covered with huge trees.  Fresh squeezed lemonade, sun tea, and beer were the drinks of choice (Oh, and the water for the kids always came from the hose.  We had a well with great tasting water!).

new mown hay

The air after the first big spring rain:  Once again I am flung back in time to kids with little plastic (yep plastic, not rubber – that was for city kids!) boots.  They were very floopy (is that a word?  Pronounced like soupy.) so we never bothered to wear any socks with them.  The puddles we splashed in would throw the water up and over the top of the boot, and our feet would float.  This made it even more fun because as you went running up on a puddle, your slippery foot would slide sideways and cause you to fall into the puddle instead of just splashing – laughter all around!

flowers in spring rain

Pine trees, rosemary, evergreens:  These smells are sort of the same and all lead to the same thing – CHRISTMAS!  I have had a few bad ones, but most of my Christmas’s were crammed with wonderful memories!  Once again all about family and friends all smiling, laughing, and sharing. (FYI: This smell always makes me feel better if I am sad or depressed.)

Fresh baked bread:  Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh baked (or baking) bread?  It never has a chance to completely cool in our house!  As soon as it’s touchable, we slice it up, butter, and eat it!  This one does not go back to my childhood, but it does include family.  Mom hated to cook.  Dad loved to cook.  I just do not remember any baking specifics (except Christmas cookies) until I moved in with my sister – she’s a bake-a-holic!  One of her specialties that I swear I can smell clear out in the barn is her bread.  She loves to make a variety of them and is always looking for a new recipe.  I have resolved myself to the fact that I will never be skinny.  I can blame it on genes, surgeries, no time for exercise – whatever- but I know the real reason is that I cannot keep my hands off her homemade bread – yum!!!

d star bread (This is one of her creations!)

With all the surgeries I have been through, I wondered what would be the worst to lose: sight, hearing, smell, touch?  I have already lost part of my hearing (major ear infection as a kid) and some ability to touch.  Getting older the eyesight fades (can sometimes be corrected), but I think the loss of smell would break my heart!  It is the one sense that can reincarnate good times no matter where I am in life.

Yep, when it comes to smells that float up my nose, happiness resides there not science.  I will continue to breathe deep and suck in all the fun fond memories that I can, while I can!

upclose dog nose

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WHY?

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I have found the answer to the world’s oldest question.

WHY DID…

chicken 1

THE CHICKEN…

chicken 6

CROSS…

chicken 2

THE ROAD?

chicken 5

To run over and steal all the wonderful worms from my gardens as I work!

chicken 3

Hiding behind the garlic grasses will not save you from my wrath bird!

chicken 4

I swear if you girls were not laying 6+ eggs a day you would be freezer meat! (I still have about a dozen other birds you know?!?  And they are staying OUT of my gardens!)

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IS THIS HEADING YOUR WAY TOO?

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I’ve been a planting fool over the last four weeks!
• Corn with cucs.
• Tomatoes with marigolds.
• Hot peppers in one spot.
• Sweet peppers in a spot far away from the hot ones.
• Extra beets, carrots, and dill EVERYWHERE.
Then, just when I thought it was safe to bring out the big guns (pumpkins, squashes, melons) this happens:

snowman with flower

************************************************************************************
DAY          DESCRIPTION     HIGH/LOW     PRECIP     WIND      HUMIDITY
WED
MAY 17    PM Thunderstorms 71°43°       40%          N 13 mph    48%
THU
MAY 18    Rain/Wind            45°35°          100%         NE 21 mph   90%
FRI
MAY 19    Rain/Snow             48°31°         100%         N 14 mph    79%
Rain and snow in the morning. The rain and snow will become lighter and change to all rain in the afternoon. High 48F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

************************************************************************************

REALLY?? We are at mid-May, and NOW it decides to snow – Mother Nature I really need to have a heart-to-heart talk with you!!

I just finished putting out all the tomatoes and peppers (heat lovers of course – grrr) and was getting ready to get out the big viners. It’s a good thing I took an afternoon off to relax my back (yep – another wonderful thing about being elderly – eek – older – double eek- experienced – OK, I like that one…being more experienced!) before hitting it all again.
I feel lucky that with age does come a bit of wisdom (ok, maybe just a lot of luck!) and I prepped covers for everything outside as I placed them in the plots. Alright, alright…I actually was not thinking about bad weather but my renegade chickens. No matter how much I fence or feed them in their pen, the beasties still get out and prefer to dig up whatever I put in the ground. Maybe I need to stress more that I have part of a freezer empty and they would fit in there nicely?

real chicken    ≡   fried chicken

Oh well, maybe they knew something I was not even thinking about – getting this cold this late in the season. Maybe Ole’ Mom Nature gave them a hint to force me to put fenced hoops over everybody? Maybe it was her way of telling me that this mess was heading my way – naaa, just sounds good doesn’t it?
So, now that I have done all the first round hard stuff (cleaning, prepping and planting) I need to get ready for the second round hard stuff.
I now have to:
1. bring out all the plastic,
2. measure,
3. cut,
4. secure
5. and pray.

Yep, pray that the wind does not rip off all the covers and ruin all my hard work.
Some weeks are just more of a challenge than others I guess!?!

pulling hair out                               hit excape

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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE TO GO OUT – NOT AGAIN!

/ helbergfarmstories / 1 Comment

Funny how quickly the spring can make me just fly out the door with joy! The smells of all the new flowers, after the first good thunderstorm, and new mown hay excite me into the season. Just when I thought it was safe to go out and I am prepared for all the nasty critters (mosquitos, biting flies, snakes etc.) a new one comes along:

What is the Powassan virus? From MNN.com

It is from ticks. Including our Deer Ticks here in the US (and Canada where it originated).

deer-tick.jpg.653x0_q80_crop-smart

(This pic is from their article – great shot!)
Now, I can handle spiders no biggie.

I do not mind snakes (as long as they stay in their own space and warn me when I get close.

garder snake

I’ve even been known to handle them – not a problem!
I hate mosquitos just because I am allergic to them. A normal person gets a bump the size of about a pencil eraser head; not me, I get one the size of a silver dollar.

cartoon mosquito

Bees and I have a great gardening understanding: They don’t sting me and they can hang out in and round me and our gardens all they want!
Yellow-jackets/wasps and I have an outright third world war going on! Took out about 20 nests in our open sheds this last winter. I have only seen a couple of them this year, but I see they are already looking to build a new home (grrr!).

When it comes to ticks, I get all icky!
• I hate finding them crawling on me.
• I hate having to pull them off me, someone else, or the dog.
• I hate how sneaky they seem (you never know where you pick them up at?).
• I hate that I do not see any purpose for them except to bug me.
• Worst of all, I hate the way they look. I blame the Alien movies for this part.

aliens movie pic  (see – flat head, with a huge nasty mouth – yuck!)

Ick – sorry, just gave myself the willies thinking about the creepy crawlers. This post is not concerning my nasty bug fetishes but to warn you, my fellow outdoorsy people, about the new virus out-and-about. So please click on the link to MNN and check out the symptoms – let’s be safe out there!!

 

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