Shoots Show/Growing Time 2022

 

Strawberries in bloom

A full moon tonight and another month ends for us. This has been a busy month. Our winter rest is definitely over!

Our weather has been a mix of above and below normal temperatures. Hardly any in the "seasonal" range. It's been a bit dry, too. Some rain is predicted for the next couple of days.

I took advantage of the nice days and finished my spring cleaning.

Getting the windows washed

 

I finished washing the windows and curtains, cleaned the refrigerator and touched up dings and chips in the paint. I also got the laundry room door painted and painted the wooden box that encloses our geothermal lines into the house.

Painting the wooden enclosure

Bob and I cleaned out and straightened our big garden shed, too. Everything is all organized again.

Step 1: empty the shed

Bob finally got my clothesline back up. It's so nice to be able to hang clothes outside again.

Curtains on the line

Bob's been busy, too. The electric fence has been repaired and is ready for the season. We found a woodchuck in the yard. He had skirted our wire. That's been taken care of. He can enjoy the 35+ acres that are outside of our fenced area.

Bob has also done some cleaning in the cellar and sorted through the clothes in his dresser and closet. (Hurray!)

The big auger

The work on the porch is well underway. Bob rented an auger and dug the holes for the footings the easier way. No more strained back and PT visits. Due to the cost of the rental, we dug these four footing holes, along with one for the clothesline pole and three for the porch we will be putting on the west side of the house. We won't need to rent the auger again.

On Friday, Bob rented a cement mixer and together we poured the concrete for the four footers on the east side. It was a long, hot afternoon, but it's done.

Bob mixing it up

The garden is beginning to show growth. The peas, beets and potatoes are up.

Adirondack Blue potato plant 

I have all of the cool weather plants set in and they're beginning to put on some size. I have my warm weather plants ready to go in - probably next week.

Setting in cabbage starts

Bob picked up a load of mushroom compost and has that spread on the new planting bed.

Compost on new bed

The new raspberry plants are in; red and black.

Red raspberry plants

And, the strawberries are full of blooms, as are the currants. Rhubarb is looking good, too.

The strawberry bed

The blueberries and fruit trees have very few blossoms this year. They all had an abundance of flowers last year, so they're taking a "rest year". Too bad people aren't as smart as plants.

Things will begin to pick up speed here very soon, so there will be more to share as the season progresses.

One last note. The group, HeatSmart FLX South, has asked up to be part of their green energy house tour group. The program is set up to let people see what energy saving projects can look like in an actual home setting. Our open house is scheduled for June 7th, from 4-7pm at our house, 2178 Grove St in Lodi. Any of our local readers are invited to drop in to check out our geothermal home heating system, our heat pump water heater, our solar panels, electric car and charger, induction cook stove and insulation/conservation measures. We hope to see some of you then.

Flowering Time is ahead. Let yourself bloom!

Kathleen and Bob

Our only trillium on the property

Blustery Winds/Awakening 2022

Daffodils are blooming!

Our month changed yesterday with the full moon. Blustery Winds/ Awakening has stepped aside and a new month begun. To sum up the old:

Our weather has been very erratic. We have all of the seasons here. Sometimes all in a very condensed span of time! This morning it alternates between snow flurries and sunny patches. Right now it is sunny and snowing at the same time. Last week the temperature was in the 70s. That's how it goes here. 

In spite of the "confused" weather, nature is moving ahead - awakening- here.

Bloodroot emerging

Bloodroot have emerged in our woods...

Bloodroot only open on sunny days

... and violets are blooming, giving off their sweet scent. Willows and honeysuckles are leafing out.

In the garden:

Allium bed is awake

the garlic, shallots and walking onions are up, and the rhubarb is emerging.

All of my plants have been started and are up under the lights.

Sunflower seedlings

Sweet potato sprouts

Seedling trays under lights and heat tent

I've taken the cool weather plants outside to harden off before setting them out in the garden. I have already sown some lettuce, spinach and half of my peas. Tomorrow I plan to sow more peas, my beets and carrots, and plant my seed potatoes. I certainly hope I'm not planting in a snow flurry.

Bob prunes an apricot tree

Bob has finished pruning all of the fruit trees and is planning out the next porch renovation project.

New porch site

This new porch will replace one that was removed last year. It will connect to and complete the existing porch on the house's east side. What remains of the back deck which you see at the left edge of the picture will be removed and replaced with a patio.

This year we are making more changes to the garden. We had been contemplating what changes to make last year. Then, when the trench was dug for the geothermal system, our decisions were made for us.

When the trench was dug, they didn't actually dig up any of the garden, but they piled the dirt on top of 2/3 of each bed on the extreme south edge of the garden. Now the area is covered with uneven lumps of clay and is basically a big mess. We had been considering what to do with this area because its productivity had waned, in part from lack of adequate sunlight. We have decided to abandon it, returning it to lawn area. We will keep the undamaged 1/3 of the beds, using them for future strawberries, fall raspberries, compost and straw storage.

To compensate for the loss of some of this planting area, we're removing the herb bed and returning that space to annual crops. I've not been using the herb bed as much as formerly, so it's not a huge loss, but it has been a chore to dismantle.

Herb bed as it had been

We had to dig out and remove roughly 200 bricks. These will be reused elsewhere. We then had to dig out large amounts of lovage, sorrel and chives, not to mention weeds! We finished this job last week.

Digging out bricks. Who needs a gym?

Last autumn, we also dug out all of our raspberry plants. Some were in the way of the trench digging. All were showing signs of disease, so we decided it was time to start fresh.

We will put half a dozen black raspberry plants next to the currants. Another half dozen fall red raspberry plants will be put in at the south edge of the vegetable plots. That's about a quarter of the amount that we had, but just two of us don't need so many berries. I have many other interesting things to spend my time on besides gardening.

Our birthdays are here in the early spring. The weather was less than spectacular for both, so no nice walks this year. We each had a nice take out lunch for our day. I got a "chore free" day and some new harp music. My library is now far larger than my repertoire, so I need to get busy! Bob got a new sweater vest. He's so skinny that he likes these to help him stay warm. I refer to them as his "artificial fat". We also went to the art museum on the Cornell campus for his day.

That's all the news for now. By next time things will be progressing in the garden and hopefully the weather will have become more consistent.

Don't forget to look for the signs of awakening in and around you.

Happy spring,

Kathleen and Bob

Violets are up!

 

Ice and Wind Time 2022

Daffodils are starting to peek out

This full moon has brought to a close our month of Ice and Wind Time. It's the month when the tug of war between winter and spring begins. One day, the temperature may work its way up into the 60s, the next, it may be 20 degrees colder. Then it climbs up again over the span of a few days, only to repeat the cycle. We've had both beautifully warm days, and days of wind, rain and heavy snow. As the month begins winter definitely has the upper hand. As it ends it is more of a even draw, with spring perhaps slightly ahead. By the end of the next cycle, spring will definitely be in the lead. 

The birds are returning; red winged blackbirds and kildeers are here, and today I saw my first Mourning Cloak (butterfly). I have not yet heard the peepers.

Taughannock Falls

Yesterday was one of those deliciously warm days, so we went for a walk along the North Rim Trail of the Taughannock Falls State Park. We're lucky to have so many beautiful waterways and falls in our immediate area.

The upper falls at Taughannock Park

 This is also the month that I begin to start my garden seeds in my cellar. 

All set to begin

I've started kale, chard, cabbages, celery, parsley, tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. So far only the kale, and some chard and cabbages have come up. I'll begin some more things soon.

The laundry room is all done! Well, except for one door that I need to paint. It's a steel exterior door and I want to make sure the weather will stay warm enough for the paint to cure.

Here's a sort of panorama of the room:

Kitchen entry to laundry room

Here's the door into the laundry room from the kitchen. This is the "barn door" that I mentioned in the last update. If we slide this aside and step into the room...

Laundry side of "barn door"

and turn around, we see the opposite side of the "barn door". Turning to our right a bit, we see the rest of that wall.

Rest of the east wall

Now to our right again, we see the south and west walls with my storage shelves and "tool rack".

South and West walls

Turning to the right once more we can see the laundry sink, washer and door to the downstairs bath on the north wall.

Laundry sink and washer

The thing above the sink is a fold out drying rack (in use there). That's all there is to this little room. I'm very pleased with it. It's so much brighter and easier to work in now. You can check out the "before" pictures on our post "Long Nights Time 2021".

The last task

This door is the last one that I have to paint. It will match the trim color.

That's about all from here right now. This coming month we'll be getting busy with garden preparations, and I'll also be doing my spring cleaning. Bob will be planning out his next project, so stay tuned.

Enjoy the coming nice weather (and expect and tolerate some crumby weather, too).

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

At Taughannock on March 17

Stay at Home Time/Cleansing Time 2022

Our snowy woods

Stay at Home/Cleansing Time is now past us. We've had another 12" snowfall since the last update and the temperatures have been mostly seasonal. We got out snow shoeing a couple of times and really enjoyed ourselves.

One of our walks

Bob strikes a pose

Work has continued on the laundry room. 

Top coat going on

I've got the ceiling, walls and most of the trim painted.

Trim pieces being painted

Bob has the new thresholds installed. He hand milled the wider one from an extra antique floorboard, so that it would match the adjoining room.

Two new thresholds

Now he is installing the trim. After he's done, I'll fill nail holes and seams and touch up the paint.

Bob installs the trim

After Bob finishes putting up the trim, he will make the door that will fill the doorway seen above. This will be a "barn door" type of door because the room configuration will not accommodate a conventional type of door. We should have pictures of this in the next update.

Who are these old folks?!

This has been the month when we give more attention to really looking at our lives; our goals, habits, thoughts, etc. We try to hone our plans and determine what supports and what hinders them. It's the time to remove all that does not promote them. This leaves space for the new growth that the upcoming season may bring. It may be eliminating possessions, changing habits and thought patterns, leaving behind belief systems or relationships. All manner of things. 

We have been thinking about our lives 10-15 years down the road. What physical changes may lie ahead and how can they be dealt with? What changes may need to be made? The changes may not be necessary yet, but it's good to have thought about them ahead of time. It will assist us to be able to consider, face and eventually embrace change that occurs. 

Late winter is a good time to prune fruit trees - and lives - for better growth and productivity. Determine the shape you want, stand back and take a good look, and grab the pruners.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

One of the small projects I'm doing

Renewal Time/Cold Time 2022

 

Our creek on the Solstice

Snowy greetings at the end of Renewal/Cold Time. Our weather has been all over the place; unusually warm and unusually cold, rainy, foggy, icy and now snowy. Often an assortment of these conditions in the same week.

Taughannock Falls State Park

On the Solstice it was seasonably cold. We walked in our own woods, and then took a walk at Taughannock Falls. It was an enjoyable day.

Foggy Christmas day

Christmas here was green and foggy. A dreary day to relax indoors and read our holiday gift books.

The last couple of weeks we've had sleet and freezing rain periodically with cold wind chills.

Snowflakes under ice

I took this picture of the gate post in front of our house. These snowflakes are under the layer of ice! Some pretty unique circumstances would have to occur to bring that about. All of the woods around were filled with glittering ice covered trees, as if made of crystal. Lovely!

Snow this morning

Last night a strong storm came through and we went from 0 to 10" of snow overnight. It's still snowing late this afternoon. It does make everything look better. I always believe that if it's going to be winter, then there should be snow.

My garden tasks are all done for now.

Beans all done

I threshed out 11 bushel of bean pods and got 8.5 gallons of beans to put in the pantry.

Preparing the seed order

The garden plans for 2022 have all been finalized and the seeds have been ordered. Nothing more to do until I start seeds in March.

Bob's been working on the laundry room. He removed the paneling and found mold on the drywall underneath near the washing machine.

Mold on the drywall

Mold further down the wall

This didn't surprise us. When we moved in we could see that there was an untended, longstanding leak situation there. All of the drywall has been removed. The new drywall is up and Bob is now taping and mudding.

Getting a clean start

He has also done the electrical work: moved the wall switch, added a porch light and switch and pulled the wire for an electric dryer hook up.

We're making sure that we take time to rest and restore ourselves also at this time of year.

Sweater in the works

I've been knitting. I finished this sweater yesterday. Next I'll begin work on a vest for Bob. I've also been continuing to work on my harp music.

Reading has been a major activity for both of us. We've already finished a few books this season. There are many more waiting for us.

Books we're reading right now

Tomorrow perhaps we'll get out to enjoy some snowshoeing. Lots of fresh air and fresh chi await.

Oh! I forgot to mention anything about our new heat pumps. We've had them for a month and a half now and are very pleased! We are warmer than before and it's a constant temperature. We like that very much! Our first electric bill was what we consider reasonable and it saved us about $45 over what the old fuel oil boiler would have cost us. We did supplement with the wood stove on the two days that we had sub zero temperatures with 35 mph wind gusts. Not bad!

That's all of the news and views from here for now. We hope you are well and taking the time to rebuild yourselves.

Till next time,

Kathleen and Bob

Solstice walk

At Taughannock Falls State Park