Category Archives: Nature

2023, gardening, home, Nature, Uncategorized, Weather

Microclimate

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It has been a long struggle adjusting to gardening in the cold and dry climates in Winnipeg and western North Dakota. We managed to find the plants that worked the best for the soil and the weather, and just persevered. The discovery of Morden roses, really cold hardy and beautiful roses from the Morden, Manitoba Agricultural Experiment Station has allowed us to have a beautiful yard of very low maintenance roses.

I am inordinately proud of our backyard for defying the odds and allowing us to grow things like hazelnut bushes, rhododendrons, ligularia, bleeding hearts, and ostrich ferns. There are very few trees on the western Plains. I believe that North Dakota has the fewest trees of any US state. It is windy. Our climate is semi-arid. The people who owned our house before us did extensive landscaping that made for an unexpected microclimate in the backyard.

We have a cool, moist, and shady backyard because of one Amur maple tree, a large and unruly lilac bush that goes along the entire back yard on the west, and the wooden privacy fences on the north and west sides of the property. That fence, with the lilacs, keeps much of the wind out. Here is our fern bed under the maple tree.

Plants like ferns, ligularia, rhododendrons, and bleeding hearts take a lot of babying and water, but if you are persistent, they will establish themselves. We also planted grapes to grow on the deck to keep the deck and the west side of the house shady. You can see in the lower right hand corner of the photo a small Red Hazel, which we planted not knowing it only can winter over in Zone 5. We are Zone 4 on a good, day, and usually Zone 3. The hazel is small, but we have had it for 30 years.

It is amazing what luck, water, and perseverance can accomplish. Our yard is relatively small, but it is a joy to nurture.

What microclimates are you familiar with? What joys do you derive from gardening?

2023, animals, gardening, home, Mysteries, Nature

Floral Vandalism

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Went out on Saturday morning and discovered that two of my iris’ are gone!   Not eaten by some little critter, but gone – as in pulled up and removed.  I water these things every day so I know it happened between 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon and 9 a.m. on Saturday morning.

One was a brand new Red Raptor (the deepest reddish purple you can get without it actually being black) and a lovely shade of orange call Savanna Sunset, which I planted last year.  Both of these are colors that are outside the iris norm and that I really loved. 

It was quite disheartening and I feel like I’ve joined the ranks for crime victims in the Twin Cities.  Obviously this isn’t on the level of car theft or having your house broken into, but it still makes me a little sad. At least both of them were just past their bloom glory for the season.

Give me some songs or book titles to cheer me up!

2023, animals, Farming Update, Nature, pets, Uncategorized

Baby Kangaroo What?

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Today’s Farm Report comes from Ben

I got a farm magazine the other day and one of the headlines is: “Baby kangaroo poop may hold the key to reducing cows’ methane emissions”. Huh. I googled ‘baby Kangaroo poop’ because I was curious about how many hits there would be on that and how much research has been done on baby kangaroo poop. 2,070,000 hits. I didn’t venture past page 1, and most of the sites are what it’s like inside a kangaroo pouch and how to they stay clean? Which is a good question that I hadn’t thought about before. (The mama ‘roo licks it out to keep it clean. Plus, she produces antimicrobial substances which helps it all stay OK in there.) The things you learn.

And in regard to cows’ methane emissions, “… previous studies had already shown that instead of producing methane, the kangaroo microbes produce acetic acid. Further research revealed that the bacteria only occurs in baby kangaroos, not adults.” *

And the acetic acid prevents methane from producing. It’s been tested in the lab. The next step is testing in live cattle. And the hope is to add it to the diet of cattle. Hmm.

When does a dog start to shed? What triggers that? Bailey still has her thick winter coat and she’s not shedding yet. We’ve been brushing her, and she hasn’t lost much yet. I know other years, it was hot and well into summer before she started to shed. We should just take her to a groomer and get her a haircut.

The crops need a rain. We’re at 770 GDU’s; +245 over normal.

Oats is shorter than we’d like considering it was planted April 14. Corn is doing OK yet. And the soybeans… well, they need a rain to get going. If a seed is sitting in dry dirt, it won’t sprout. It’s hard to believe just a few weeks ago I had wet fields, but the top 3 inches are dry now and the fields are rough looking.

They always say to get seed in the ground ASAP. Beans that were planted two week before mine had the moisture and look good.

This year, just for the heck of it, when planting soybeans with the drill, I left two rows open, plugged one, left two open. That makes 2 rows 7.5” apart, then a 15” gap, then 2 more 7.5”.  Why not try it I figured.

We had a baby chick hatch in the incubator last Sunday evening. (S)he was a week early! I wasn’t expecting any until next Monday, the 12th! It’s usually 28 or 29 days to hatch baby chicks or guineas. Guess the mom had been sitting on this one a few days already.

Well, s/he did fine and it’s in the pen with the mail order chicks which arrived on Tuesday. Everyone is doing well so far.

 

I took some video our the new chicks and put it on YouTube. Here’s a link: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tK2w-K4lzkE

Other projects at home this past week, I got the corn planter and drill cleaned out and put away, outside for now. The concrete guys are here working on my outside slab. I am VERY excited for this outside slab!

I’ve also got the new pump for the pressure washer, I’m rebuilding the fuel sediment bowl on the old 630 tractor, I’ve cut grass, I’ve ordered lumber and picked up some ‘re-stock’ windows for the shed project. I returned my extra seed, and I hauled that fertilizer wagon to the auction site. Normally, you can’t really exceed about 25 mph when towing a wagon. They don’t trail very well and will sway left and right. I could do 26 mph with the fertilizer wagon and only have a little sway. Any faster than that and it swayed crazily. Get that sway bad enough and it will flip the wagon over on it’s side and mess up your day.   

I was 15 miles from home with 5 miles to go and in the mirror, I saw a mouse climbing up the wagon frame. Wow! I thought, 1) Where did he come from; where had he been hiding?? And 2) he’s going to be so confused when we get there! But about then he lost his grip and fell to the road. He failed to scamper away for the few seconds I could still see him. Yeah, some trip. 

We had one guinea chick hatch on Wednesday, I could hear it cheeping before s/he even got out of the shell. Number one, he’s a crazy chick! Kelly calls him ‘Speedy’. I think s/he, the chick, really just want’s a friend.! Thursday another started to hatch, but s/he didn’t get out very fast, and that membrane dries up and gets hard and I finally cut him out. He took a long time to come around, but he’s doing real well now. And Friday morning we had 2 more. They’re all crazy!

And at the theater, we finally have working AC in the theater! It took 10 months from when we first moved the seats and painted ductwork.

Volunteers painted that in August and it got hung up, got beams on the roof in January, the rooftop unit arrived in May, and then it was just finishing the ductwork connections. And I’ll tell ya, that was far more complicated than I expected! It was really interesting observing the guys doing it.

But now it’s so cold in the theater, I may need sleeves!

*https://newatlas.com/environment/baby-kangaroo-bacteria-cows-methane-emissions/

 

EVER TAKEN A BOXING CLASS?

ARE YOU USUALLY EARLY OR LATE?

WHAT ABOUT KANGAROOS?

2023, Family, Food, holidays, Nature

Grilling Season!

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We took the grill out on Monday and fired it up!  For many years, when YA was younger, we had an old kinda-grill that we inherited when I bought the house.  It looked like it had been cobbled together from parts found in the garage and was so rickety that I wasn’t sure I could get it to the boulevard to give away before it collapsed.  I felt a little guilty that somebody stopped and took it before I’d even had a chance to go in the house and make a “FREE” sign.

Our second grill was a little hibachi-type thing, but we didn’t use it much.  Let’s face it, spending 30-40 minutes coaxing charcoal to just the right stage so you can heat up a veggie burger for a minute. 

I finally caved and got a gas grill when YA was about 12 – got it using award credits at work.  Then I splurged to get a little wheeled cart that it sits on; it was a little too big to lug around.  Last year we switched from the little canisters to a big one.  It works much better and saves a lot of gas.  

So to celebrate Memorial Day we did grilled corn on the cob and veggie brats with all the fixins.  It was a perfect day for grilling and eating at our outdoor table!  And so much nicer to just turn on the gas for 10 minutes and then turn it off!

What do you like to grill?

2023, animals, Mysteries, Nature, Songs

Dive-Bombed

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We have finally identified the bird living in the birdhouse – it’s a house wren!   It took a while because she (I have no clue but I like to think of her as a her) hangs around near the birdhouse but is a little skittish about going in and out while we’re in the yard. I’m also not a whizz where bird identification is concerned.

She sings like crazy.  I’m not sure how birds do it; I’d need throat lozenges every night if I gave out as much as they do.  On Saturday, I was lounging about in the backyard and I thought I’d doublecheck my identification, just to make sure.  She was hanging about, singing her little heart out so I figured comparing her birdsong to bird calls on the internet would be interesting.  I opened the first website I found and hit play.

Her reaction was immediate.  She lit off her branch and came straight at me.  She didn’t get too close for comfort, but it was definitely a warning.  No other house wrens allowed in her yard.   I did it again on Sunday to see if it had just been a fluke.  No fluke.  She definitely did not want any competition and came at me again.  No more bird calls off the internet for me!

Any loud persistent folks in your life?

2023, animals, Family, Farming Update, gardening, Nature, pets, Seasons, Uncategorized

On and On It Goes

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

Another week of life being relentless… I’m tired and I can’t keep two coherent thoughts together so this week’s blog will be basic highlights and a bunch of photos.

*I did finish planting corn. Except for about 2 acres that are wet. But I’ll get to them soon.

*Working on planting soybeans. Hoping to finish on Saturday.

*The college show opened on Wednesday and the paint was dry and it’s a good show. The set isn’t my best, but it works.

*We’ve had 4 sandhill cranes hanging around.

*The lilacs are looking – and smelling – so good!

*Every morning, I let Humphry out, and Bailey comes in to get a morning greeting and some attention for a minute. Then she’s happy to go back out.

*For the first time ever, I kinda got tired of music in the tractors. I listened to podcasts: Moth Radio hour, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Radiolab, and my frequent standby: Light Talk. (Imagine the Car Talk guys, doing a show about lighting).

*Kelly and I picked up some very large limestone rocks using an old thing called a ‘Slip Scraper’ or ‘Buck Scraper’. Clyde, you ever use one of these? This has been behind the shed for years. It’s missing some handles, but we made it work carrying rocks.

*The coop applied fertilizer for soybeans.

*Next week is all about lighting the next show in my schedule.

*My last day at the college for this academic year is May 31. I probably won’t have all my work done; I may have to stop in the next week just to finish what I don’t get done this week.

But then, THEN, the pace will slow down and I can start working on my new shed space.

Have a safe and peaceful Memorial Day weekend!

Here are photos:

Planting Corn
Tracks in the Dirt
Tractor Buddy
View
View
View
Minnesota Rock
Kelly with Rocks
Buck Scraper
Loaded Buck Scraper
Goofball
Coop Spreader
Loading Seed
Another Tractor Buddy
Seed Camera View

Planting corn, the tracks in the dirt, my tractor buddies one day, my view from the tractor front and back, a rock shaped like Minnesota (that was really heavy!), Kelly and her second load of rocks, the “buck scraper”, A goofball, the coop’s fertilizer spreader, loading soybean seed from the trailer, Another tractor buddy, and the camera’s showing the seed in the drill.

Where and what was the best burger you ever had?

(The first time I had a ‘blue Burger’ ((blue cheese on a burger)) was at a bowling alley and it was FANTASTIC and none have compared to that one.)

2023, gardening, home, Kids, Nature, Seasons

Afire!

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Now that the weather is nicer, YA’s inner-pyromaniac has emerged for the summer. 

Years ago I inherited a backyard fire pit from a friend.  At this point I think the rust is the only thing holding it together but it has provided many years of enjoyable backyard conflagrations.  YA is good at sweeping the yard for twigs and branches that she piles up in the very back of the yard; she is always on the lookout for kindling.  She is the initiator of 98% of our backyard infernos and is generally in charge of any arranging and poking that is needed.

It doesn’t take long after the first couple of the seasons blazes that she asks about graham crackers and chocolates.  We always have marshmallows (Trader Joe’s – vegetarian).  I knew this was coming so I had already stocked up; we were able to have our first s’mores of the season that day!  We even used the s’mores trays that I bought at the state fair a few years ago.  These are clearly unnecessary toys but I love them anyway. 

We have a gas stove; we could easily have s’mores all year long, but we never make them except over the fire in the back yard.  I suspect that the sunshine, the smoke from the fire, the joy of finally being outside after a long winter contribute to why having summer s’mores is just the best way to go.

Do you have any seasonal rituals?

100 Words, 2023, Mysteries, Nature, Weather

Is a Puzzlement

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Doing some errands last week – had been raining all day.  Waiting for the left-turn arrow at an intersection, I noticed that on the berm between the street and the parking lot, the automatic sprinklers had turned on.

Thinking of all the technology we have these days (people on the moon, 3-d printing, chatbots, apps that can track your heartrate – the list goes on and one), why can’t they program automatic sprinklers to know when it’s raining?

Any absurdity bothering you this week?

2023, animals, Family, Farming Update, Food, home, Kids, Nature, Seasons

Life Goes On

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The Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

I saw a sticker in a YouTube video: “Life is -f**king- relentless”. Boy, they got that right.

Tuesday morning, I was a little overwhelmed. The college shop was a mess with stuff from the play, and from the concert, AND from commencement. Plus, I had to build the set for the show opening the 24th, not to mention farming. By Tuesday afternoon I had gotten a lot done and I didn’t feel so bad.

About noon on Tuesday, there was a crane placing the heat and AC unit on the roof at the Rep Theater, that was fun to watch.

On Thursday, as the heat and AC guys did final measurements for the ductwork, they inadvertently dumped about 30 gallons of rainwater that was trapped inside a temporary roof opening, into the theater. I was there just to unlock some doors, but I heard the gush of water and I kind of knew what it was, but why was there THAT MUCH?! Of course, it ran along the steel joists and dripped over a 20-foot area on the first and second floor. So that was fun. And unexpected. And not what I meant to be doing. It didn’t really hurt anything.

Kelly and I had supper at a Middle Eastern restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. A new place for us. There was only one other couple in there. The food was great! The owner / host didn’t speak English and there was a lot of pointing at pictures in the menu, and I didn’t get the appetizer I thought I was ordering, (I didn’t get any appetizer) but the entre was good. And I even tried the coffee!

Sundays, Kelly and I take the gator around the farm and check out what’s happening. It’s a pleasant Sunday drive.

With all the rain, it’s a little wet in some of the fields.

Mom celebrated her 97th birthday with ice cream with friends.

Her birthday was really Friday, but they celebrated Thursday. Mom gets very anxious and had called to be sure someone was coming. When she plays music on her Alexa device, she turns the volume down. Then when she calls someone, she can’t hear us. It’s rather comical. There’s a lot of shouting and interrupting each other. Kelly and daughter plug their ears when I talk to mom.

The family reunion was really nice. Got to see nieces and nephews I hadn’t seen in a  while. A couple of them came to the farm to relive memories, and I made friends with a grandniece who wasn’t too sure about me until we got on the tractors.

Taking a gator ride, we found blue bells, wild leeks, and they showed me jack-in-the-pulpit’s that I didn’t know about.

Thursday I finally went back to planting corn. Finished one field and was doing a food plot for a neighbor when the tractor got hard to steer. I had blown a hydraulic hose and lost all the hydraulic oil. Course it was after regular business hours. The other day we talked about good customer service: The parts guys are willing to come in after hours if you need. When I called, the guy was half hour away from the store. I’m half hour away too, but I also wasn’t sure they could make a new hose or it’s something they need to order. I decided it could wait until morning.

Since I was a few miles from home with a broken tractor and the planter in the ground, Kelly came over with the gator to pick me up. I took the other tractor with the soil finisher and went out doing field work. After one round, I found one of the shovels of the digger laying in the field. The big bar it attaches to, called a ‘Standard’, had broken off. Well, there’s 30 other ones on the machine, so missing this one isn’t the end of the world. I worked until about 9PM, went home and backed it up to the shed and used lots of new tools. I used the 4 foot ‘under hood’ cordless LED work light that Kelly gave me as a gift, I used my new cordless grinder that I bought myself as a gift, I use some pry bars that I got recently, and I use the air hammer, which I don’t get a chance to use very often. Considering there was only two bolts to get out to remove the standard, I’m surprised it took that many tools.

All the parts manuals are online and they take a little digging sometimes, but it sure is convenient. I placed a parts order online about 11PM, to pick up the next morning. Hydraulic hose, bolts, standard, ect.

Kelly and I burned the pile of winter sticks one night and had a nice time being outside.

The first corn that I planted on whatever day it was, it’s already out of the ground. I picked up soybean seed this week, so I’ve got all the seed now.

We found some guinea eggs in the chicken’s coop one day so we put them in an incubator. We’ll ‘candle’ them next week and see what we got. We put 8 chicken eggs in there too just because. 

Guinea eggs are kind of pointed. They’re the ones on the bottom of the photo. The cradles they’re sitting in ‘rock’ them gently; in effect, turning them like a momma hen would do.

There was a male duck hanging around here one day. And over in the field where I was planting corn, a male and female duck were hanging around. They weren’t bothered by the tractor so I suspect they’re one of my pairs.

The chickens, while down a bit on egg production, are doing well.

Still got coyotes coming around most every morning, but Kelly and the dogs are keeping a good handle on them.

A bear has been spotted on some security camera’s in the neighborhood.

One day at a time. Life goes on.

Who’s your newest friend?

What’s the last present you bought yourself?

2023, gardening, Health, Kids, Nature, Uncategorized, Weather

Attack of the Red Clippers

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Normally I’m pretty careful in the yard.  Obviously you’ve heard a few times where I wasn’t as careful as I should have been, but those are actually pretty few and far between.  It’s been two years since I dropped the patio stone on my toe.

I have two pairs of red clippers and they stay closed most of the time, especially if I’m walking around or doing steps.  Kinda that old “don’t’ run with scissors mentality.   The reason I have two pairs is that when one has to go to the hardware store for sharpening, I still have one at home.  Can’t go a week without my red clippers!

But last week something new happened with the clippers.  I was trying to get as far down on the root of a “volunteer”; I probably should have used a bigger tool for this project, but the bigger tool was in the garage and I was in the front yard.  Enough said.  Anyway, it took a bit of force and then suddenly the root gave it up and the clippers slammed shut.  Unfortunately my index finger got pinched between the handles.  I mean seriously pinched.  I said some very colorful things, pretty loudly and had to sit down for a minute as I got a little dizzy. 

The mishap didn’t break the skin, but the blood blister rose up immediately and the whole tip of the finger turned a few ugly shades of purple.  And it hurt like crazy.  Right about then Jenai came home from some errands and brought me a wet paper towel, some antibiotic ointment and a bandaid.  The rest of the gardening that day was done left-handed.

It looks much better now but still hurts if I put any pressure on it at all.  I have to say I’ve been VERY careful about the red clippers since then.

Do you have a favorite gardening tool?