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Saturday, July 19, 2008
Stacey Has Trouble and Hay Baling
Friday morning, I went to the mum patch and tilled half of the patch, then went back to the house and Stacey began having trouble about 7:30 AM. We began with 15 mg Valium. Stacey's involuntary movements slowed down until 10:24 AM, when we gave another 10 mg Valium and I went to town and picked up lunch for us. A little after 11 AM Stacey, Linda and I ate lunch and watched TV in the living room. At 4:25 PM, we gave Stacey another 5 mg of Valium to stop the uncontrolled muscle movements in her arms. Linda went to the mum patch with Regina and they finished trimming the buds off the mums. I called Linda on the hand held radios and asked where she was about 7:15 PM. She was coming in the house when I called. I told her I was ready to take Stacey to the hospital as we had reached the 30 mg of Valium limit the doctors had given us. I helped Stacey to the car as Linda gathered up her medicine and we headed to the ER. Stacey's involuntary movements were increasing as I drove towards town, so I told Linda to give Stacey another 5 mg of Valium. We checked her into the ER about 7:30 PM and shortly afterwards the ER doctor had the nurse start an IV and give Stacey 5 mg Valium. The doctor admitted Stacey for a 24 hour observation and decided to place her in a room. About 9 PM, and after 40 mg of Valium that day, Stacey seemed to straighten up and was hungry again. Jason had called right when Stacey was having trouble, so Linda called Stephanie and told them Stacey was doing better, so Tommy and Stephanie brought Jason to the ER to see how Stacey was doing. They walked along with us as the hospital personel placed Stacey in her room. I stayed until about 10:30 PM and watched as Stacey ate some soup and I kept an eye on her. Linda stayed the night as I went home, slept and returned to the hospital at 4 AM. Linda went home at that time and slept until I called and said Dr Rice had released Stacey to "go to the house" about 10:30 AM. Linda came and picked us up and I drove us home. On the way home, I saw Steve Anderson and asked him if he wanted to help me bale some hay around 1 PM and he did. After getting Stacey settled in the living room, I went and hooked up the hay wagon to the FarmTrac tractor and the hay baler to the Ford tractor. Steve Riddle came up and he followed me to the hay field where I left the FarmTrac and hay wagon. I went to town in the pickup truck and Steve Anderson was ready to bale hay, so we headed back to the farm. Steve and Steve rode to the hay field in his Mule while I drove the tractor with the hay baler to the field. They hooked the wagon behind the baler and climbed on and we baled the hay. We had no problems at all and we were done fairly quick. I put the hay baler in travel mode and Steve Anderson drove the tractor pulling the hay wagon back to the farm behind me pulling the hay baler and Steve Riddle in his Mule. We backed the hay wagon in the barn loft and unloaded the hay, then had a few cold cans of pop. I took Steve Anderson back to his house and it had taken us a little less than 2 hours. I returned to the farm and put the equipment away, hooked the finish mower to the FarmTrac, backed the wagons in the barns and went inside. Stacey was doing OK and watching TV.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Hay Baling
Linda worked in the office for the FRYSC yesterday morning. While she
worked, Stacey and I took Daisy for a run, then I mowed with the
FarmTrac and finish mower as Stacey set in the Mule listening to her
iPod and working a word search. Linda came home and we went to town for
lunch, then back to the farm. Phil Garmon had raked the hay in the field
across the highway and told me it was ready to bale, so Linda helped me
hook the square baler to the tractor and I headed to the field. After
some trouble with the baler needing a shot of WD-40 and Steve Garmon
adjusting the pickup height I was off and baling. No more problems and I
finished the field as Linda watched and moved a few bales out of the way
for me. I checked the bale count and it read 82, then I set the baler to
travel position and parked it in the shed. Linda and I went to the house
to cool off a little, then Stacey and her picked up Regina and they went
to the mum patch to trim the buds off the mums.
After
a couple glasses of cold water, I went back out and hooked up the
trailer to the pickup truck. Steve Riddle showed up and wanted to help
pickup the hay, so we started picking it up and stacking it on the
trailer. Shortly, Linda came driving up in the Mule, with Regina and
Stacey. Linda took Stacey to the house and Regina began driving the
pickup truck through the field while Steve and I picked up the hay.
Linda returned and helped until the hay was stacked too high for her to
throw it on the trailer. Then she took over driving while Regina rode
along and we finished picking up the hay. Afterwards, I moved a wagon
and parked the trailer full of hay in the barn hallway. Linda took
Regina home and brought back a blackberry cobbler that Regina had made
for us. We enjoyed that with ice cream right after taking showers. It
was delicious!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Daisy Runs & Mum Patch
Stacey backed the Mule out of the barn and I let Daisy out of her stall.
Daisy ran around the Mule then Stacey told her to jump in the back of
the Mule and she did.
Stacey
drove to the mum patch and I took a picture of the patch. Regina and
Linda had worked two evenings to pull the weeds that were too close to
the mum plants for me to use the tiller.
The
mum plants have really jumped in size and it is time for them to be
clipped. Linda will take care of that with battery powered grass
clippers in the upcoming week she says. After that I will need to till
the entire patch. There were some guys standing inside the fence looking
at the mums, so I asked what they were doing. They said they were from
the University of Louisville and were using their equipment to see if
there were any prehistoric dwellings or burial sites underneath where
the road was going to be built. After a few minutes of talking, Stacey
and I went across the creek to let Daisy run around the hay fields.
Daisy
seems to be enjoying taking a swim in the creek to cool off. Sometimes,
I wish I could join her. We let her run the rest of the way around the
field and then loaded her back in the Mule and headed across the creek.
I stopped to take a picture of the guys working in the mum patch.
As
I was stopped and talking to the woman, Steve Riddle pulled up and
talked a while before going on his way to school near Albany.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Property Appraisal and Night At The Hospital
Linda had found out that Betty Garmon was selling some of her lilies
flowers because the highway was taking their property and she was going
to have to move them. So, Linda went down there in the Mule and bought
enough to fill the rear of the Mule completely full. The next morning,
Stacey began having trouble around 6:30 AM and we began giving her
Valium. I had to set the flowers out of the Mule and behind the house so
Linda could water them before transplanting to their permanent location.
At 12:10 PM we gave Stacey more Valium for a total of 35 mg. An
appraiser for the KY State Highway Department had made an appointment
with me for 1 PM to look at our property. He arrived and showed us a few
drawings of what their plans were going to be. 
I
immediately told him there were some new things on the plans that I
didn't like. One was a temporary easement that would cause them to
remove several trees near our fire pit where the old house used to
stand. We talked about that a while, then a few other items I was unsure
about. Next we walked from building to building while he took pictures
and made notations of the measurements he took with a laser device. We
eventually had all the building photographed and measured and he also
took pictures of the hay fields, our picnic area and fire pit. My
feelings about the road project are that we are going to get the shaft.
After the guy left, my attention returned to Stacey. Linda had been
keeping an eye on her during the appraisal. After a couple of hours,
Stacey began having more involuntary movement in her arms and shoulders.
Linda and I had reached the limit of the Valium the doctors had given us
to administer, so I called Dr Rice's office and they talked to the
doctor and he advised we take Stacey to the ER at the hospital. We
loaded Stacey in the HHR and drove to the ER. The ER doctor had an IV
started and was monitoring Stacey and was able to observe her
involuntary movements. He was concerned about the amount of Valium she
had been given, so he administered Adavan to stop the involuntary
movements a little after 4 PM. They admitted Stacey for 24 hour
evaluation and Stacey was visited by Dr Rice around 7:30 PM. He gave her
5 mg Valium through her IV at 8 PM and that stopped her involuntary
movements. Stacey was wide awake and talking after taking 40 mg of
Valium and 10 mg Adavan during the day. I stayed at the hospital and let
Linda go home and change into some warmer clothes as the AC was cranking
out the cold air. She returned about 10:30 PM and I went home to sleep.
I woke and returned to the hospital around 4:30 AM and let Linda go home
and sleep. Stacey slept without incident through the night and was very
sleepy during the morning hours. Linda returned to relieve me around
noon and I left for about 2 hours, then Linda called and said Stacey had
been released to come home. I returned to pick them up and bring them
home.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Evaluation Lap
After Linda and Stacey left this morning, I decided to take Daisy for a
run around the farm and see what I needed to do. I let Daisy loose down
by the creek and then drove the Mule around the hay fields and back in
the 'holler'.
The
hay has been rolled and I have used the scoop on the tractor and the
bush hog behind to slide all of the big pieces of debris out of the hay
fields and bush hogged the smaller pieces so that the fields are ready
for the next round of hay. I need to use the bush hog around the edges
of the fields and mow back in the 'holler'. Next, I rode down to the mum
patch and checked out the work I did yesterday morning from 5 AM to 7 AM
tilling the mums. We had lost a few due to the hard rains, but I believe
we still have over a thousand alive. Regina and Linda had planted the
pumpkins yesterday and also cleaned out the cabbage and tomato plants.
I
finished my ride by going around the hay fields across the creek and
watching a deer graze on the hay. I returned to the farm and put the
Mule in the barn after taking the garbage cans to the edge of the road
for pickup later today. As I walked towards the door, I snapped a
picture of the flowers along our front walk.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Hay Is A Mess
Well the creek has went down and we were able to take Daisy for a run
around the hay fields and see what had washed into the fields.
I
guess Phil will mow what he can, then I'll shove the debris back into
the creek and bush hog the remaining hay to clean the fields up for the
next time. The left picture in the lower row is a Cicada.
There are so many of the adult cicadas around it sounds like a space
ship is landing outside or a bearing going out on a riding lawnmower.
Right now we can hear them anywhere we go around the farm.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Mum Planting Day
Friday evening Pauline, Brent and Julie arrived about 7:30 PM and Sabra,
Jim, Amber and Clayton arrived about 9:30 PM from IN. We talked a while
and played with all the kids and went to bed around 11 PM.
Saturday
morning, Linda fixed everyone breakfast and we began the day by heading
to the patch to plant the mums at 7 AM. We had lots of help, so we took
lots of stuff. Jim, Brent, and I were laying out the rows with Jim
drilling the holes for the plants with a cordless power driver. I was
filling a 100 gallon tank with creek water using the tractor scoop and
then watering each hole with a hose from the tank. Pauline and Amber
were dropping the plants in the holes and Regina, Sabra and Linda were
filling the holes with dirt around the plants. Stacey was watching the
two younger kids and pulling them around in the wooden wagon. It was
going well with the sky being slightly cloudy and cool. The kids were
having fun playing in the dirt and the planting was going fast.
We
took a break for a cold drink and then the sun came out and the
temperature started going up, but we were nearly done. We went back to
work and finished the entire patch of 1,000 mums and I checked the
clock. It was 10 AM. That was by far the quickest we had ever finished.
Everyone helped load up the stuff and we went back to the house. We ate
lunch and the next thing I knew we were headed to the creek to let the
kids play in the creek. The kids saw the water and started playing with
boats tied to cane poles, but the next thing we knew they were in the
creek and practically swimming in it.
After
a couple of hours in the creek everyone took the kids to the house,
dried them off, gave them baths and dry clothes. A little later they
made a trip to the barn to see a new litter of kittens. They took a
container and fed the kittens milk to get them to come out where the
kids could catch them and hold them.
After
a busy day, the kids and the adults seemed to go to bed early.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Hay Baler
Linda has been using the weed trimmer a lot this week to rid the farm of
weeds that we can't mow with the mowers. She even did between the trees
that we planted back in the 'holler'.
We've
been concentrating on getting the mowing done, because the mums were
delivered earlier today and that will take up quite a bit of time to
plant and water all 1,000 of those this coming weekend. We may have more
help than usual if Sabra and Jim come down from IN as is supposed to
happen. I had unhooked the bush hog from the Ford tractor and also took
the finish mower off the FarmTrac tractor in preparation for baling hay
later in the day. Leonard was raking the hay into wind rows and our New
Holland 565 Hay Baler was delivered a little after lunch. The delivery
guy told me a few things about the baler and then after about a half
hour he headed back to Glasgow. With a little help I hooked the baler to
the back of the tractor and pulled it over to the hay shed.
I
asked Linda to drive to town to pick up two more rolls of baler twine
and she went after those. I drove the FarmTrac pulling the hay wagon to
the other hay field with Stacey following me in the Mule to bring me
back to the house. I parked the tractor and wagon out of the way, then
rode back and we waited on Linda to return. Once she was back, we headed
to the hay field with me driving the Ford tractor pulling the hay baler
and Stacey driving the Mule with Linda. I pulled the hay baler into
position over a wind row of hay and engaged the PTO on the tractor. The
baler started spinning and I moved the tractor forward until hay started
coming out the bale chute. We had a problem, the bales were packed too
tight and it was busting the strings. Linda and I were worried we had
got in over our head as we looked through the manual and saw all the
things listed that could be wrong. I remembered what the delivery guy
had told me and started loosening the spring tension with the two hand
cranks at the rear of the baler. We started getting a few bales that
were tied. I stopped several more times and kept loosening the spring
tension. Steve Riddle drove up with Steve Anderson riding along. They
were ready to help with the hay baling. We hooked up the hay wagon to
the back of the baler and started down another wind row of hay.
Steve
R was catching the bales as they came out of the baler's chute and
passing them to Steve A and he was stacking them on the wagon. We
continued to have bales with broken strings and I kept loosening the
tension until the baler was making bales better. Steve was kicking the
broken bales off the wagon and Stacey and Linda would spread them out so
I could pull the baler back over and feed them in again. After a couple
of hours, we had the hay wagon filled and a few more bales on a trailer
behind the pickup truck so we headed back to the farm with our loads of
hay. I pulled the hay wagon with the FarmTrac and parked it in the loft
of the upper barn. I backed the truck and trailer in the hallway of the
barn and then we talked and rested a little while. Steve Anderson
collects junk metal, so I gave him some heavy pieces and paid him for
his work. Steve Riddle said I didn't owe him because I had helped him a
lot, so I thanked them both, then Linda and I went back to the hay field
and I drove the Ford tractor back to the farm and we put the hay baler
in the hay shed.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Mowing and Flower Work
Linda fixed breakfast and after eating, I headed out to start mowing
with the tractor and finish mower. After about an hour, I noticed Linda
had started trim mowing with the little John Deere riding mower. I mowed
until about 11:30 AM and went inside to check on Stacey and fix lunch. I
tried out a new recipe for a BBQ pizza with ham and pepperoni. I liked
it and it seemed like it went over well with Stacey and Linda too. Linda
did mention that next time I should put some cheese on it too. I went
back outside and continued mowing but Linda and Stacey were working on
flowers. They had the little red wagon full of geraniums and were
planting those in several of our pots that we set around the house and
in the half barrels down by the old barn.
Linda
caught me in the picture she took of Stacey pulling the wagon. They
finished with the flowers and Linda went to work at the day care. Stacey
and I took Daisy for a run around the hay fields. Then I finished mowing
for the day while Stacey watched from the Mule. Steve stopped with his
Mule and dog to let her get a drink from the creek and we set and talked
down there for a while.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Flowers
We went to town Tuesday to meet Jason for breakfast and talked about
what had been going on with him. Afterwards we rode over close to
Glasgow and drove through a farm that sold used machinery and some new.
The place was out in the country and they had quite a bit of newer
equipment, but the old stuff looked like mostly trade in pieces. We
continued to Glasgow and went shopping a while, then to Ben and Elmer's
Tractor Sales. I picked up a couple of product handouts for hay balers
and rakes and talked to a salesman about the prices, then we left and
went to Mancino's for lunch. We returned to the farm and Linda went to
work at the day care.
Wednesday morning, we headed to near Greensburg
to buy flowers for decorating around the house. There is a small
greenhouse there that has nice flowers and we've done our flower
shopping there the last 3 years. Linda picked out the stuff she wanted
and we loaded it in the HHR, but just barely. We stopped in Columbia and
ate lunch before returning to the farm. Once home, I unloaded the
flowers and then used the Mule with the trailer to haul the cement pots
from inside the barn to the front sidewalk. Linda planted the flowers in
the pots and a few other places.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Mum Beginnings
Linda was working with the string trimmer and I had been mowing with the
tractor and the riding mower most of the morning. We took a break and
along with Stacey went to Subway for lunch, then came home and went
inside. Linda and I decided what kind and color of mums we were going to
order, then I called and ordered 1,000 mums. After ordering, I went to
the hay shed and took the Ford tractor across the road and removed the
bush hog from the back, then drove to the barn down by the mum patch and
hooked to the two bottom plow. I laid off a place for a small garden and
then the patch for the mums. The ground was slightly wet but seemed to
break up fairly well. After I finished the plowing, Stacey and I washed
the 1956 Chevy because Brent and I had drove it in a little bit of rain
last weekend. We had replaced a fuel filter and we wanted to see if the
problem with the car stalling had been caused by the fuel filter being
clogged. Evidently, that was the problem because we drove it to town
twice and I've drove it into town once since replacing the filter and
the car has made it everytime.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Stacey and New Grass Beds
Tuesday morning started with meeting Jason for breakfast with Stacey,
Linda and me at Jone's Restaurant. We had fun talking about NASCAR and
the NBA and things that Stacey and Jason liked. After breakfast, I drove
home and parked the HHR in the garage and I noticed Stacey said
something to Linda as she got out and went straight in the house. As I
followed, I found Stacey laying in the bed with Linda beside her. I
realized that Stacey was having some problems with involuntary movements
in her arms. After watching a few minutes I laid down beside her while
Linda did something else. The movements had increased in frequency and
strength so I gave Stacey 15 mg of Valium per Dr Zhu's instructions. She
reacted in about 7 to 10 minutes. Her movements stopped and her mind
seemed to return to normal functioning. We watched her until late in the
afternoon and nothing else happened. Linda and I decided to plant some
ornamental grass I had ordered several months ago from Michigan
Bulb. We gathered up the tools and then set Stacey in a lawn chair
so we could work and watch her at the same time and began on the two
beds. I ran the tiller through both patches first, then raked the ground
smooth. Linda rolled out the weed block and cut it to length. I measured
and cut the spots in the weed block for the plants and Linda planted
them. Linda and I laid the pavers around the beds and then I used the
scoop on the tractor to bring a half scoop of rocks to the new beds.
Linda and I shoveled just enough of the rocks out of the scoop onto the
weed block to hold it down. I put the tractor up while Linda put up the
Mule and we quit for the night as it was getting close to dark.
Wednesday
morning Linda fixed us a sausage biscuit for breakfast and about 7:45 AM
Stacey began having problems again. I gave her 15 mg Valium, but this
time the movements continued for a while. A half hour later Linda gave
her another 10 mg Valium and it slowed the movements down some. After
about an hour, they finally subsided and Stacey took a nap for a little
bit. She woke up shortly and seemed to be better. Of course the Valium
had her a little groggy, but it was better than her having a seizure and
a trip to the hospital. We ate lunch at home and Linda and I took turns
keeping an eye on Stacey while the other one did some odd jobs.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
It's Official - It's Spring
Spring officially arrived this morning just a few minutes past midnight.
The daffodils didn't wait on the official timing of Spring to burst
through the ground and bloom. We let Daisy jump into the back of the
Mule and we took her with Stacey and I as we took a few pictures of the
daffodils.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
It's Over
We had a killing frost, so we're done selling mums. We've received the
check for the last 32 we sold, so pretty soon it will be time to divide
up the money. I counted the mums left in the field and we had 114 left
out of the 1,100 that we planted. That should figure out to a pretty
good year considering how little rain we received in August and
September. I've taken the bush hog off the tractor and put the grader
box on, then leveled a couple loads of dirt in Regina's front yard. I
don't think I will use the bush hog until I start trimming the fields
next spring. Linda used the mower to mulch up the leaves a few days ago
and we had a fire in the fire pit today. It had rained last night and
things were still wet, so there wasn't any worry of the fire spreading.
It took a while to get it burning though, then when it finally was
burning quickly, we had to go inside because it started raining again.
The fire burnt itself out after about two hours. Just before dark, a
couple of guys from Georgia stopped. They were dressed in complete
camouflage outfits and wanted information about hunting on the West Fork
place. I told them I didn't know much, but we talked for about a half
hour. So, to summarize no more mums, no more bush hogging, no more
mowing, just a peaceful time on the farm. I took the picture below on
the way to Columbia one morning.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Last Big Mum Dig
Monday morning I woke and it was looking cloudy. I checked the radar and
listened to the weather report. The radar showed rain on the way and the
forecast was for 3 or 4 days of rain. I went and woke Linda and asked
Stacey to get dressed. We hopped in the Mule and headed to the mum
patch. We dug 30 mums for the Homemakers' party on Thursday. We dug a
few extras and some yellow and a few white ones that Regina needed to
take to buyers. It began misting rain as we were finishing the digging
and potting. We pulled the hay wagon to the house and left it set so the
rain would water the potted mums and went inside. After lunch, Linda
went to the day care and Stacey and I went to the hay shed and moved
things around to make room for the hay wagon. Later, once Linda was
home, she and I pulled the hay wagon full of mums to the hay shed and
backed it inside.
Tuesday morning I pulled the wagon back out and let
the rain continue the watering of the potted mums. We pushed it back in
the hay shed about noon. That should be enough water for the mums. We
received over 4" of rain in the last two days. We needed it bad as the
creek had been dried up. It's good to see the creek water flowing again.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Comparison Shopping
Stacey and I began the day by going to Grumpy's and eating breakfast
with Jason. A quick stop at the bank and back to the farm where we took
Daisy for a run around the hay fields and fed her. Daisy had thrown her
collar off somewhere while running loose. About 10 AM we backed the HHR
out of the garage and went to Wal-Mart in Columbia to buy a new choker
chain dog collar. After picking out a collar, on the way out, we stopped
and looked at the mums Wal-Mart was selling for $7 each.
The
trip home was a nice ride as the leaves on the trees are just barely
starting to change colors. The road was almost deserted as we drove the
20 miles back to the farm.
I
parked the HHR in the garage and Stacey walked down and picked up the
mail. A little later, we went to the mum patch in the Mule and took a
few pictures to compare our mums to the ones at Wal-Mart. We are getting
near time when we could be hit with the first frost of the season. Last
year the first
frost was on Oct 13th and in 2005 the first
frost was on Oct 31st.
After
taking the pictures of the mums we rode around the hay fields and drove
down the almost dry creek bed to the end of our property. Usually there
is water in the creek about 6 inches deep in that area. We rode to the
back of the 'holler' behind Regina's house and checked out the job I had
done the day before bush hogging. I had knocked down some of the bushes
and vines growing on the old barn back.
At
the end of the day, the hay wagon was empty of mums and will need to be
refilled tomorrow morning as we have people wanting more mums.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Digging A Bunch of Mums
We started our day with bowls of cereal and milk. Next, Stacey, Linda, Missy and I drove the Mule to the mum patch and began digging mums about 8 AM. We dug about 10 and potted those to fill the black trailer. I had 12 mums on the trailer from the night before, so that made 22 potted mums. We headed back towards the house, but were stopped on the highway by a woman wanting to buy mums. I turned around and we went back to the patch. She pulled her truck inside the fence and we dug 12 mums and potted them and set them in the back of her truck. She followed us to the barn and Linda sold her a few small pumpkins, corn stalks and a bale of hay for $5. She said she would be back next year and left happy. We pulled the trailer to the house and watered the 22 mums. We took Daisy for a run while the water soaked into the dirt around the mums. After putting Daisy back in the barn, then we set the mums in the back of the pickup truck and hauled them to the elementary school. We unloaded the mums and a few pumpkins for their open house on Thursday. We ate lunch while we were in town and then went back to the farm. Linda wanted to rest a while so we waited till about 1:30 PM to dig more mums. We needed 16 yellow mums for Linda's friend, Brenda. We dug and potted those and took them to the house, watered them and set them in the back of the pickup truck. Then I put the cover on the truck bed so the wind wouldn't blow the blooms off when Linda drove to Smith's Grove Thursday morning. We dug a few more mums for the hay wagon and called it a day. Total dug = 65. We showered and went to Columbia and ate supper, then drove home just after dark. It had been a beautiful day to dig mums with a nice breeze and cooler temperatures in the mid 70s.
Monday, October 08, 2007
More Hot Weather
The last couple of days have set records here in KY. It was 91 degrees Sunday and 90 degrees today. We're still digging mums, today we dug them early to beat the heat. Then took Daisy for a run. After returning her to the barn, we went to Columbia for lunch and then did some grocery shopping. Once we were back at the farm, Linda went to work at the after school day care. Stacey and I went into town to the bank to cash several checks we had received for mums. As soon as we returned to the farm a guy came by and gave me a check for $90 to pay for the mums he had picked up on Friday. We're getting close to being out of the yellow mums, especially since we need to keep 30 for the Homemakers' Meeting in early November. Those are hard to keep because we usually have a killing frost before then. Linda came home and we let Daisy run again and put a flea collar on her as she has been scratching quite a bit.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Edmonton Pumpkin Festival
Linda, Stacey and I went to town for breakfast and then returned to the
farm. We took the Mule to the mum patch and dug mums. We had the trailer
about half full when Regina joined us and helped with potting the mums I
dug. We filled the trailer, then pulled it to Regina's front yard and
set the mums on the hay wagon, then watered each mum. We decided to
clean up and go to Edmonton to see what was going on at their Pumpkin
Festival. I took a shower while Linda sold mums to her friend,
Stephanie. Stacey and I picked up Linda and Regina and I drove to
Edmonton. We found a close parking spot, then walked to the Courthouse
Square and began checking out the booths and displays people had setup.
We
strolled around the square amid the booths and hundreds of people. That
was the most people I've seen at the Pumpkin Festival. Regina and Linda
had me take some pictures of things they want to make once we are done
with the mums. We saw one booth selling large mums for $15 each. We
couldn't believe it, we're selling ours for $3 each. Granted, ours were
not as big as the ones they were selling, but there wasn't many people
buying those $15 mums either. We ordered a plate of potato spirals with
cheese and bacon bits. I let Stacey wait on those while I went and
bought 4 cups of fresh squeezed lemonade. I carried those back and once
the potatoes were ready, we set down and enjoyed our drinks and snack.
We took a country road along a creek on the way home that didn't have
hardly any traffic. It was a nice ride on a curvy secluded stretch of
highway. Back at the farm, we dug a few more mums and took Daisy for a
run. Then we dug enough mums to fill the wagon right before sunset.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Mum Patch Update
Wednesday morning Stacey, Linda and I rode in the Mule to the mum patch
and I began digging mums with Linda potting them and Stacey carrying the
potted mums to the trailer behind the Mule. We had dug one mum and
Stacey put it on the trailer, then looked at us and said she was
starting to twitch. I unhooked the trailer, we rode in the Mule back to
the house and by then the twitching was getting worse. Linda gave Stacey
and 10 mg Valium and about 15 minutes later, I gave Stacey another 10 mg
Valium. It took a few minutes but her twitching subsided. A little after
noon, Linda gave Stacey another 5 mg of Valium, then a half hour later
another 5 mg for a total of 30 mg in less than 4 hours. I decided that
we should take Stacey to see Dr Rice at his office, so we loaded in the
truck and drove to town. I pulled to the back door, opened it and rolled
a wheel chair outside and placed Stacey in it. As I rolled Stacey in the
back door, the nurse directed us into an examination room and in about
10 minutes Dr Rice came in to see how Stacey was getting along. He
explained what we should do for Stacey the remainder of the day if
anything else occurred. After about 20 minutes of consultation, we
returned to the farm. Linda stayed with Stacey and I went to the mum
patch and dug the mums we absolutely had to dig for a customer. I
returned to the house and Linda watered the mums while I cooled off and
stayed with Stacey. We worked like that a couple more times during the
remainder of the day. Stacey never required any more Valium and just had
mild involuntary movements.
Thursday morning, I went to the mum patch
about 6:30 AM and dug mums, then back to the house and watered them and
set them in the hay shed. Linda, Stacey and I took the Mule and let
Daisy run around the hay fields since she hadn't been out of the barn
the day before. We were about half way around when I noticed Daisy had
run right over the top of a snake laying in the trail. I ran over the
snake with the Mule and stopped a little past it. I took the shovel out
and chopped it's head off. Daisy came back and was a little scared of
the dead snake. 
We
went back to the house and put Daisy in the barn, then Linda, Stacey and
I went to the mum patch and dug a trailer load of mums. I'm guessing
that the mums in the patch are about half gone.
Regina
came down and helped us finish the trailer load and then we went back to
the hay shed and watered the mums I had dug yesterday. They are supposed
to be picked up on Friday.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Half Of Hay Cut & Rolled
Saturday, I dug mums most of the day and Regina and Casey sold them off
of the hay wagon in their front yard. Larry cut the hay down the creek
Friday evening and Saturday. Sunday, I dug a few mums and mowed the
front yard with the tractor and finish mower, then took Daisy for a run
to see how the hay fields looked. To my surprise, they had raked, then
rolled the hay and hauled it away. The fields were completely mowed and
looked great. Daisy didn't know where to run first. She had been staying
on the mowed paths along the edges of the fields, but now the paths were
gone.
Daisy
could run as far as she wanted and then she came back towards the Mule.
I whistled for her and she came running. She is getting better in that
aspect of her behavior.
We
rode a little ways to another field and I let Daisy out of the Mule
again. This is to let her know that every time I call her back, she
isn't going to have to be put in the barn. She's learning fairly quickly
what I expect from her. With the dry leaves on the hill sides I can hear
her run almost to the top trailing squirrels or turkeys, then come
busting back down the hill and pop out in the fields.
The
leaves are beginning to change a little bit. The picture on the right is
a copy of the other one, but with a warming filter used on it. Linda and
Stacey returned from IN just before dark.
Friday, September 28, 2007
They're Loaded
Linda is has been gone to Smith's Grove to babysit Julie since Thursday morning Stacey and I have been digging mums and setting them on the hay wagon. Regina has been taking mums to town and selling them too. Stacey and I went to Grumpy's for breakfast and we met Jason. We had a nice breakfast, then stopped at the bank, and then back to the farm. We dug another trailer full of mums and watered them before setting them on the hay wagon We went back to the house, cleaned up and went to Albany and picked up Stacey's new eyeglasses. She tried them out and had the technician fit them on her face. Stacey was happy with the way she could see and how the glasses changed tint when she went outside. We ate lunch before returning to the farm. We checked the hay wagon and needed to dig more mums, so we changed clothes and went and dug more. As we returned to water the latest batch, we noticed the truck was in the little house driveway with a car hauling trailer hooked behind. Brent, Julie and Linda were inside the house. I helped Brent load the 1965 Mustang on the trailer and chain it tightly so it wouldn't roll while being hauled. It took us a while to accomplish all that. Next, Linda wanted to load mums to take to her mom in IN, so we moved the boards and floor jack around to make room for those. Linda and Brent tried to put the cover on the back of the truck, but it wouldn't stretch enough to snap it down. We rolled it up and put it inside the Mustang. I guess they are going to try again in the daylight. Stacey cried trying to make up her mind whether to go or not go, but finally packed her stuff and went with them. They left the farm around 8:30 on their way back to Smith's Grove to stay the night and leave Saturday morning for IN to drop the Mustang off at Imon's house.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Daisy = Pond Scum
Yesterday, Linda let Daisy run loose around the farm while she was
setting the mums and pumpkins around the front of the barn.
Daisy
stayed with Linda until she heard something at the pond. Linda went to
see where Daisy had gone and found a mess. She came inside and picked up
a camera to document the mess. We have found that Daisy is a frog
hunter. She sneaks around the pond until she scares a frog into jumping
in the water. The drought has the water so low in the pond that it's
mostly muddy water. No matter, Daisy follows the frog into the muddy
water like she's going to be able to catch it. She hasn't caught one yet
and if she does she will probably spit it right back out. I've saw other
dogs catch frogs and the warts on them make the dogs froth at the mouth
and sling their heads around like crazy.
Linda
had to hose her off afterwards.
This morning we left the house at 7
AM and went to Regina's yard to move mums into the back of her truck for
her to take to town and give to the people that had ordered them. After
loading her truck, we headed to the mum patch to dig mums and we took
Daisy to let her run inside the fenced in patch. The patch is beginning
to show color on most of the mums now, so we can show people what color
they are buying. We dug enough to fill the black trailer with yellow
mums, then took them to the hay wagon in Regina's yard and set them on
the wagon. We're keeping most of the mums on the wagon in the shade.
We
went inside our house, took our medicine, ate a quick bite for breakfast
and went back to the mum patch. We dug and potted another trailer full,
then hauled it to Regina's and again unload the mums to fill the hay
wagon. Linda watered all the mums we had dug while I put Daisy back in
the barn and unhooked the trailer.
We
went inside and I fixed lunch before Linda left for the day care. We are
about out of mums on the wagon now and Regina came home with orders for
15 more she needs to take tomorrow. Looks like we will be digging mums
until dark again tonight.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Digging Mums
Linda and Regina st arted digging mums Saturday and Sunday. They've put out the signs and set a few potted mums by the road and in front of the barn. Linda, Stacey and I went to Columbia and ate lunch today and stopped at the grocery store on the way back. After Linda worked at the day care and came home, Regina came over and said she had sold some of the mums off the wagon and had some orders to fill, so we went to the patch late Monday afternoon to dig more. We had about 20 plants dug and potted when someone stopped and bought 4 that we had dug. We dug until we couldn't see what to dig, then pulled the wagon back to Regina's front yard. The temperatures are still above 90 degrees during the daytime, so they have been leaving the wagon of mums in her front yard under the shade of the trees. Linda and Regina watered the mums while I talked to Steve Riddle, who pulled in the driveway.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Eye Exams
Early Tuesday morning we finally had some rain at the farm. It was light
rain and lasted till about 9:30 AM. I checked the rain gauge and there
was a little under one half inch. Shortly before lunch, Linda and I rode
down to the mum patch and checked them out. I dug one and didn't dig
anymore as the ground was still too dry. The dirt was loose and fell
from the roots when I lifted the plant off the shovel and placed it in
the plastic pot. The little bit of rain will help them grow and bloom
out, but more is still needed before I dig a lot of plants. I mowed the
front yard and the barn lot since the rain had settled the dust.
Wednesday
morning, Linda had scheduled eye exams for Stacey and her, so I drove
them to Albany and we went inside the office. Linda sent me in with
Stacey to see how she did because Linda was having an exam too. They
checked Stacey and things went fairly well. It took about an hour and we
were setting out in the waiting area until Linda finished. She came out,
and they went and picked out frames, then we waited about 20 minutes and
Stacey and Linda were called back inside to have their eyes dilated They
put the drops in their eyes and we went back to the waiting room for
about a half hour. They took them into the examination room and it took
another half hour. Finally we paid, and left. It was after noon, that
had taken over 3 hours. Linda and Stacey were wearing the dark glasses
when we went into Burger King. They pulled those out of their regular
glasses once inside. After eating, we returned to the farm and Linda's
eyes were acting funny so she stayed inside. Later in the afternoon, I
mowed while Linda was trimming and taking Daisy for a run.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Mums Getting Close
After Linda came home from working at the school, we went to Columbia
and ate, then returned to the farm. Stacey went inside and I backed the
Mule out of the barn and pulled it around to the front hallway. Linda
hooked Daisy to her lease and she jumped in the Mule. We rode to the mum
patch to let Daisy run. It's still been in the 90s nearly every day and
almost no rain in the last month, so the mums are not as big as they
have been in past years. In fact, these are the smallest mums we have
ever grown. The early mums are starting to bloom, but if we don't get a
decent rain, it's going to be tough to dig them.
I
closed the gate behind the Mule and Linda unhooked Daisy's leash and we
let her run.
Daisy
ran around the patch and checked the fence for a way out. After finding
nothing to chase, she came back and we tried to get her to play with a
ball, but no luck with that. She will come to us after a few whistles
and calls. Daisy has become accustomed to riding in the Mule and she
will jump in and set in the seat when she is ready to go.
Daisy is still a little spastic as when we are going down the road, if a
big grasshopper flies across the front of the Mule, Daisy will attempt
to jump out as we are moving. So we have to hold her on a short leash as
we head home.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Hazy, Lazy Days of Summer
It's still hot and fairly quiet around the farm this week. The temperatures are still in the upper 90s. Linda has been working at the after school day care and Stacey and I have been staying inside mostly. A few of our mums are starting to bloom and Linda pulled most of the grass away from the plants. We've made a trip to Burkesville to see if anyone could align the TR3, but no one has the specifications for the settings, so no luck on that. Today, we went to Glasgow in the afternoon and made some shopping stops before eating at Mancino's. Stacey found two newer CDs and after buying those we listened to them on the way back to the farm. Linda is planning to go to IN this coming weekend.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
A Little Bit Of Rain
Overnight, we had a few mild thunderstorms go over. They dropped about two thirds of an inch of rain and were gone by daylight. We ate a quick breakfast and I went outside to mow the front yard. I noticed Linda took the Mule and went to the mum patch. I finished the front yard and went inside about 10:30 AM as the temperature was nearing the 90s. Linda followed me inside a few minutes later and she told me she had been weed eating. Stacey and I fixed sloppy joes for lunch and we watched TV for a while. We had another period of rain, maybe 1/4 of an inch, then it cleared up again. Linda went back to the mum patch and was pulling grass out between the plants when I received a phone call from our neighbor. Steve was unable to get on the internet after Duo-County had made some changes to everyone's network IP settings. I made a quick trip to their house and, with the help of Brent over the phone, was able to get their PC back on line. Stacey and I watched the NASCAR race at Bristol the rest of the evening.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Bush Hogging
This morning I took my mp3 player and wore long pants when I went to the
hay shed around 5:30 AM. The Ford tractor's battery was too weak to
start the tractor, so I hooked the battery charger to the battery and
plugged it in to the extension cord. I started the FarmTrac and went
back in the 'holler' to mow some of the grass areas. The temperature was
in the mid 60s and it was nice working on the tractor and not being
fried. I mowed the hillside, along the branch and the area where we have
several little trees planted. It took about an hour and twenty minutes
and then I went back to the house. I told Stacey and Linda to dress and
we would go eat in town. We did, then checked out a few hot rods that
were having a rod run and had stopped for breakfast too. There were
several nice cars and trucks. Back at the farm, I went back to the hay
shed and started the Ford tractor, took the charger off and set it
aside. I backed the tractor out of the hay shed and headed back across
the creek. I bush hogged around a walnut tree at the corner of the hay
field and the entrance to the other hay field.
I
used the bush hog to trim both sides of a 4-wheeler trail along the hay
field and then cut the weeds in the gully next to the hillside where I
had mowed earlier.
Linda
and Stacey went to Campbellsville to shop while I stayed at the farm. We
had a break in the temperatures, it only made it to 98 degrees today.
Around 6:30 PM, I went for a ride in the Mule to check on the mum patch.
With no rain in the last couple of weeks, the mums have not had any
attention from us because there's not much we could do. The ground was
too dry and hard to pull the grass out, so we have watched to make sure
they're not wilting from lack of water, which they aren't.
The
pumpkin patch, on the other hand, is in trouble. The vines are showing
signs of heat stress and some have died. There are pumpkins, not as many
as we expected and they aren't that big.
After
making a lap around the patches, I continued across the creek and drove
around the hay field. It was mowed a few weeks ago and the 'Johnson
Grass' is growing and looking OK.
I
can't say the same for the creek. It has stopped flowing and the water
is starting to completely dry up. There are some puddles left, but not
many.
Maybe
the next few weeks we will get some rain from the hurricanes headed
towards the USA. It seems...
"One man's poison...
is
another man's cake."
Rupert
Hine
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
August Begins
I went out early this morning to take a few pictures of noticeable items
of interest to me. The first thing out of the door, I noticed that one
of the ducks was in the 'pool' and quacking at me as I stepped off the
back porch. It's still amazes me that they don't need more water to swim
and keep them happy.
Next
I drove the Mule to the mum patch and there I noticed a ear of corn, a
better description would be, a bare ear of corn. We had 'corn invaders'
for the last few nights. I've tried to pick the corn as soon as it
becomes ready to eat, but I think raccoons are beating me to a lot of
the corn.
If
the blooms are any indication of how many pumpkins we will have, it
looks good for this fall.
The
mums have had a major growth spurt with the recent rains and are looking
quite well. I've left them alone for a little over a week, but they need
the grass pulled from next to the plants as soon as we get another
shower.
Back
up the road, closer to the house, the 'Rose of Sharon' bushes are
blooming and so are the 'Chigger Weed' plants.
Another
type of flower that is currently blooming is the 'Naked Ladies'. The
reason they are called 'naked' is because when they bloom, there is no
foliage. The foliage grows early in the season and then dies and is gone
when, within a couple of days, the stems shoot up to a height of around
2 feet and the blooms pop out within a couple more days.
I
did a GOOGLE search
and found out they are called "Amaryllis Belladona" and sometimes known
as belladonna lilies. Here, they still are most often simply referred to
as naked ladies. Did you notice the bug that is camouflaged and hiding
in the 'chigger weed'?
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Blooms
Yesterday I mowed the trails around the hay fields and as I was mowing I
noticed how many things were blooming and the beauty of things around
the farm. I took a 4-wheeler ride with the camera and took pictures of
some of the things blooming. I was setting at the computer editing those
images when I was suddenly interrupted by the ugliness of one of the
things at the farm. Our dog Cooter had been killed on the highway and I
had to take care of picking up his remains and burying him. I didn't
feel like writing much after that, so I simply posted the main facts. I
have since finished editing the pictures and have included them in this
post.
The
creek crossing was nice on the way back, the weather has changed and it
was mid 80s with very little humidity.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Rain Causes Growth Spurt
Last week we had three and a half inches of rain fall on the farm. It
caused the creek to rise a little and clear out some of the downed tree
limbs. Now, I've noticed that the mums, gourd vines and pumpkin vines
have really surged in growth. After tilling the mums and the grass being
pulled, the mums in the patch are noticably bigger.
The
pumpkin vines have almost completely covered the ground in their patch.
The
apple gourd vines on the left and the small birdhouse gourd vines on the
right have grown and are covering their section of the patch.
The
sweet corn has started making ears, now if we can keep racoons and deer
away while the ears mature we will be lucky and have some good eating.
I
have already picked three ripe tomatoes off of these vines and you can
see there are a couple about ready to pick.
I
just wiped one of them off and bit in. That is the best kind of tomato,
the one I pick and eat right out of the patch. I took two of the three
back to the house though.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
While They Were Out
Pauline, Brent, Julie and Linda left for IN Friday morning leaving
Stacey and me to take care of things around here. First on our agenda
was to go to Grumpy's for breakfast. Stacey was hoping to meet Jason and
talk during breakfast, but he wasn't there. We finished breakfast and
returned to the farm. Stacey began her chores while I went to the mum
patch and tilled a little over half the patch. It was too hot to finish,
so I went back to the house and we took the truck to town and dropped
off the Mantis tiller at the NAPA parts store to see if they could get
it running right. Back at the farm, I used the FarmTrac tractor and the
finish mower to mow until I couldn't take the heat any longer. Stacey
and I had lunch meat sandwiches and then stayed inside until evening. I
tilled the mums until I finished right before dark.
Saturday, I mowed
the lot behind the trailer after we took our pills at 8 AM. It was still
wet and clumping the grass, so I decided to mow around the mum patch
where it didn't matter how it looked. I finished that area and we went
to Columbia to eat lunch at Sonic. After eating, we went to the grocery
store and picked up some stuff, then stopped at McDonald's for 4 double
cheeseburgers, two for Cooter and two for the little dogs. Once again,
during the heat of the day, we stayed inside until around 5 PM, when I
went back out and finished mowing the area where the old house used to
stand.
Sunday morning, Stacey and I had cereal for breakfast. Then
Stacey decided she needed a shower, so I sat and listened. I noticed she
was having problems, so I checked and she said she was starting to
twitch. I had her get out of the shower and I helped her get dressed. We
had trouble with her bra, I'd never had to help someone put one on like
she had picked out to wear. After two tries we had it on and pulled her
teeshirt on and Stacey was able to put on her shoes. I had gave her 5 mg
Valium at 9 AM, another 5 mg at 9:15, seeing as I was by myself, I
decided to walk her to the car before she was unable to walk. I set
Stacey down on the steps in the garage, backed the car out of the garage
and then helped her to the car. During times like those, she has fallen,
so I don't let her walk by herself in that condition. We buckled up and
headed to the hospital, I gave Stacey a 10 mg Valium as we left the
driveway because it seemed like the others hadn't made any difference
and her twitching was continuing. We made it to the ER, put Stacey in a
wheelchair and pushed her into the ER at 9:30 AM. Stacey was still
having involuntary movements and I watched to see if I was going to have
to give her another Valium. It was a close one, but I held off, as Dr
Rice was in another room with a patient, but I knew he was available if
Stacey needed an IV. Dr Rice came in and took a look at Stacey, who was
beginning to show the effects of the Valium. He said that he wanted to
watch her for a little while, so I went home to call Brent and Linda in
IN and let them know what was happening with Stacey. I talked to them
and went back to the hospital. Brent called me back, at the hospital,
and said they would be home late that night. Dr Rice set Stacey up with
a lunch, then let her "go to the house" about 1:30 PM. I sat around with
Stacey the rest of the day while we watched the NASCAR race and several
other things on TV. Stacey came through it fairly well and was walking
and talking OK before the day was over. I woke Stacey when Pauline,
Brent, Julie and Linda came home and we set and listened to their
stories about their visit in IN.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
P B & J Arrive Early
A little after 9 AM, Julie, Pauline and Brent drove in the driveway and
turned their dogs loose on the farm. They came inside and I held Julie
for a bit while Brent and Pauline unloaded their stuff for an overnight
stay. They are planning on taking Linda and leaving for IN early in the
morning while Stacey and I will be dog sitting. Around 11:30 we loaded
Julie in her car seat and placed it in their HHR and went to Hamilton's
BBQ for lunch, then stopped at the day care and let Linda show Julie to
the kids and the women. We went back to the farm and waited on Linda to
come home from working at the day care.
She
arrived around 1:30 and took over on holding Julie. Later in the
afternoon, Linda and I went to the mum patch in the Mule and began
pulling the grass out of the mums that was too close to get out with a
tiller. Pauline, Julie, Brent and Stacey came down in their HHR and
helped Linda finish cleaning the patch. I was using the tiller and going
through the rows. I stopped when they finished and we went back to the
house. Linda fixed hamburgers for supper and we played cards until time
to go to bed.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
A Few Flowers And Lunch At The Lodge
The mums have received a rain shower to freshen them up after Linda
trimmed the entire patch, but the sun has crusted the ground. This helps
some to keep weeds from sprouting.
You
might notice that my rows aren't very straight this year, but at least
the area between the mums is barren of grass and weeds right now. We've
probably had the best survival rate this year of any year we have
planted mums. Watering with the stock tank and the hose made a big
difference in the amount of water we used and that was actually
delivered to the plant. The cone flowers and a few others in the area
where the old house used to be are blooming. They keep multiplying and
spreading out in the flower bed.
Stacey,
Linda and I take rides in the Mule during the day, but it's been around
90 degrees for a while and I have been doing most of my farm work early
in the morning or waiting until after 6 PM. Linda still ventures outside
and does some of her stuff in the heat of the day. Linda wanted to go to
the Dale
Hollow Lake State Park Lodge for lunch, so I drove us out there and
Linda and Stacey went inside while I parked the car.
I
sat down at the table and we all ordered, then I stepped outside while
our lunches were being prepared and took a couple of pictures of people
having fun on the lake.
I
went back inside and our food was delivered to the table, we ate and I
took another picture. There were more people eating as we were leaving.
Linda and Stacey took a short side trip through the gift shop to check
out what was being sold as souvenirs this year.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
4th of July
Linda finished trimming the mums and came back to the house. We had
received a phone call from our friends in IN, Bonnie and Donnie Cox, and
they had invited us over to their cabin near Star Point on Dale Hollow
Lake. They were going to cook out and wanted Linda to bring dessert, so
Linda made two pies, a chocolate and a lemon. I mowed a few places that
we had missed earlier in the week and sprayed vegetation killer around
the driveway and hay shed areas. I'm not nearly as busy as the bee in
the pictures below, but anything I do outside causes an immediate melt
down and I sweat profusely in the nearly 90 degree temperatures that we
have been experiencing for a while.
I
finished my jobs, took a shower and we left for Byrdstown around 4 PM.
We arrived at Bonnie and Donnie's cabin a little before 5 PM. We all
said hello and sat outside on their deck for a while catching up on what
each had been doing. We heard about the activities of some of our
friends that lived in IN and we told stories of Julie's birth and Linda
showed her baby album to B&D. Donnie started the grill and a little
later we ate burgers with plenty of side items and then enjoyed pieces
of those pies. After we ate, we cleaned up the table and went inside as
it was starting to get dark and the 'no see ums' were starting to bite
us. We chatted inside till a little after 9 PM and we said our good byes
and left for home. As we drove through the countryside we were able to
watch fireworks going off all over the place. We passed through Albany
just as the town's fireworks were ending, so we saw the finale and were
out of town before the rest of the traffic.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Pumpkin Tilling and Mum Trimming
Yesterday afternoon, I tried to fill the FarmTrac with diesel fuel and
found the tank to be empty. I had been waiting on that to occur so I
could move the tank to a spot we had fixed right next to the gas tank at
the end of the hay shed. I used the Mule with the black trailer and
Linda helped me lay the tank on end on the trailer. I drove the Mule
over to the new spot and we set the tank up and 'walked' it in place on
top of 4 cement blocks.
Around
6 AM, I left for the mum patch in the Mule pulling the trailer with the
tiller on it. I started the tiller and began going through the pumpkin
patch to get rid of the grass that had sprouted. I had went lengthwise
through about half the patch when Stacey and Linda drove inside the
fence in the Mustang. Stacey set in the car and listened to the radio
while Linda used battery powered trimmers to cut the tops off the mums.
In the previous years, Linda has used scissors to trim the mums. The
battery powered trimmers make it easier, but it still looks like a
monumental job when she first starts.
I
continued to till the pumpkin patch and finished going through it
lengthwise and took a break. After about 20 minutes, I started going
across the patch with the tiller and completed the job in about 2 hours.
I
loaded the tiller on the trailer and picked up Stacey in the Mule and we
went back to the house, where we took our pills and then I took a
shower. Linda arrived a few minutes later saying she had done almost
half of the mum patch, but the batteries had run down. I called Newcomb
Oil in Columbia and ordered diesel fuel and they said the truck was
already on it's way to Burkesville with a load. The dispatcher called
the driver and he dropped off 200 gallons about a half hour later. The
price was $2.348 per gallon for a toal of $469.60. We decided to drive
to Glasgow for lunch at Mancino's and then to Tractor Supply to buy a
100 gallon tank in case we need to water the mums later. We had a coupon
for 10% off and I figured that would pay for the extra gas the truck
used. We also stopped at Big Lots, K-Mart and Wal-Mart looking for a
music CD that Stacey wanted to buy. It had not been released yet, so she
picked out a different one, then we drove back to the farm.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Another Visit to See Julie
We planned on visiting Julie at Pauline and Brent's house Wednesday, so
we also made plans to stop at a couple other places while we were near
Bowling Green. We left home after 9 AM and stopped in Glasgow at Lowe's.
Linda needed to buy new battery powered grass clippers to cut the mums.
She wanted to find a set that would have a battery charger that would
also work with the older clippers. We found a Black & Decker clipper
that has the same plug for the charger, so we bought it and headed on
over to Smith's Grove. As we exited from the Cumberland Parkway, we
stopped at McDonald's and picked up some sandwiches. We took those to
Pauline and Brent's house and we all ate, including all the dogs. We
held Julie and played with the dogs for a while, then changed Julie's
clothes and took pictures of her.
We
took the memory card for the camera and Stacey, Brent and I went to
Sam's Club. I printed out the pictures and then we shopped for items on
our list. Brent had his own list and Stacey drove the cart for him. We
wound our way through the aisles and then checked out, packed our goods
in the HHR and drove back to P&B's place. Julie was still being a good
baby and Linda was holding her. Linda wanted Julie's footprints in a
baby picture album, so they held her up, placed her feet on a stamp pad,
and then pressed her feet against the page of the album.
Julie
cried until they finished washing the ink off her feet, but it didn't
take long for Julie to settle down and go back to being a good baby
after they finished. We watched a movie and after that we left for home
around 7:30 PM.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Tiller Work
I drove the Mule with the trailer behind to the mum patch Monday early
in the morning and used the tiller I had on the trailer to till the
entire patch. It takes over two hours to go through the patch. It looked
like we had lost 8 plants to the heat and dry weather.
Tuesday
morning, Linda and I went early, tilled the patch with the sweet corn,
tomatoes, gourds and some "Indian Corn" closest to the camera in the
picture.
Maybe
in a few days I will run the tiller through the pumpkin patch. I'm
waiting until the plants' vines are growing across the patch. Linda will
move the vines while they are not very long and that will be the last
time we can use the tiller on that patch.
After
we finished the tilling, we parked the trailer in the barn and unhooked
the Mule, then went inside and took showers. Stacey had made plans to
meet Jason at Grumpy's for breakfast, so we took her and went to eat. We
walked inside and Stacey went over to the table where Jason was at and
sat down. Linda and I sat at another table and ate breakfast. After we
finished, we talked to Jason a little bit before he went to work at
Houchens, then I paid for Stacey's and our breakfast and we went back to
the farm. We were in and out of the house quite often during the day as
it was above 90 degrees and humid. I used the tractor and finish mower
to mow around the mum patch and I noticed some blackberries along the
fence. I knew the berries were there for a while because the briars had
scratched my arms other times when I had mowed. There were some berries
that were ripe and as I made a lap along the fence, I stopped and ate a
few. Between 2 PM and 5 PM it was too hot for me outside, so I stayed
inside.
I
went back out around 5:30 and took a ride in the Mule. I stopped and
talked to our neighbor, Steve for a while, then came home as it looked
like rain. We never did get any rain.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Finally a Rainy Day
The rain started early in the morning and continued off and on during
the day. I checked the rain gauge and it showed over an inch and a half.
I took the Mule down to the mum patch and the lower edge of the patch
had water standing. It wasn't covering any of the mums so they should be
OK. We ate lunch at home and then the school called Linda to work at the
day care for the rest of the afternoon. I went outside and set on the
front porch with the camera and watched the hummingbirds. The little
hummers aren't as friendly yet as they were last year, they still set
and wait while another bird is drinking.
The
hummingbirds seem to wait until one bird is done before another comes to
drink. Sometimes, one bird will run another one away from the feeder.
The
red throated hummers seem to be more aggressive than the ones with a
green throat. I've noticed some actually seem fat compared to the little
one in the pictures below.
I
think as time goes on the birds will start being more social at the
feeder. I believe it has to do with plenty of flowers blooming now, so
they don't have to congregate at the feeder. It's not their only source
of food like it will be later in the season. Check out the picture below
from last July.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Home Makers Visit Farm House
Monday was normal for most of the day. Linda fixed breakfast, I mowed,
we went to town for lunch and so on... Stephanie McClain wanted to ride
to the Farm House restaurant for the Home Makers Dinner Out with Linda
in the Mustang with the top down, so in the afternoon, Linda washed her
Mustang and put the top down. Stephanie and her daughter, Hanna, arrived
about 4:30 PM and they loaded in the Mustang with Linda and Stacey and
roared off to meet the rest of the club. The waitresses at the Farm
House were volunteers and their tips were being donated to Relay For
Life.
Steve
Riddle called and wanted me to come out to his farm, so I drove the
pickup out to his place on Jone's Ridge. Steve and Nancy had found a
small deer and we walked down in a gully where it was laying near a
natural spring.
I
helped Steve nail some braces on corner posts for the fence they are
putting up and we watched Larry Anderson roll the hay we had cut a few
days ago. He finished the rolling just before a light shower began which
caused us to put the tools away and I headed back to the farm as Nancy
and Steve were locking their gates. Back at the farm, I parked the truck
in the hay shed and as I walked to the house, I noticed that the lilies
that Kim and Kenny gave us had really bloomed out. I stopped and took a
few pictures of the blooms.
Linda
and Stacey came home with Stephanie and Hanna riding along with the top
still down. Linda said they had to stop and put the top up once, but
when they drove out of the rain, they wanted the top down again, so she
stopped and lowered it to finish the ride.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
New Camera
I've been wanting a new camera for a while, so I ordered a Nikon D80 from Amazon the other day and today UPS delivered it to the front door. They required a signature for the camera and then handed it over to me. I was like a kid at Christmas, I couldn't wait to get it open and start fiddling with it. I had a memory card from the Kodak Z700 camera that also fits in the Nikon, so I didn't have to order anything extra. I popped in the card and then the batteries and b