Author: Richard

compost watering & other post winter-funk tasks

We had some cold days (for Georgia) with temps in mid teens, but that is past and I am emerging from my winter funk.  Friday I cranked up the bobcat and worked it a couple hours - moved pine and other logs up the hill to the contour ditches where they will decompose with time; moved two old tractor cultivators from alongside the drive, where they could snag an unwary driver,  to a show off location; and turned >150 leaf bags collected in the fall into a semblance of a compost heap. Saturday Read more [...]

goodbye Gimpie

I said goodbye to Gimpie today.  She was one of 6 hens given us by our neighbor some 4 years ago, and only one is now left, the Ameracauna.  Gimpie had a bad hip which may be because our neighbor would carry her birds by their feet, upside down.  She said they went to sleep and wouldn't struggle that way.  Her son objected that it was bad for them and I guess Gimpie was the result.  Anyhow Gimpie was a real trooper -  with her bad hip she would struggle out of the coop down to the second paddock Read more [...]

cold hardiness

With temperatures for several consecutive days falling below 25 deg F (excluding wind chill) I decided to see which vegetables in the open raised beds were doing well. Garlic of course relishes winter but it is not for eating now: Collard, kale and turnip greens are doing fine.  Here is a collard: And here is some kale: When it comes to turnip greens, it appears there are two kinds - the true turnip greens with very large leaves and a sturdy white base: And the other Read more [...]

well, that was not difficult – alternator replacement

My trusty Toyota Tacoma 2005 2.7L at 218k miles was doing fine, until recently I noticed a high pitched whine from the engine area, even when the truck was not moving.  The whine was pronounced some days, less so others.  It did not seem to come from the engine block (good) but one of the accessories.  The serpentine belt is a long belt driven by the engine crankshaft which turns the alternator (charges the battery), the power steering pump, the water pump and the A/C compressor and is held under Read more [...]

“choose your parents wisely” he said

This Monday morning it was colder than it had been for weeks and the breeze along the river trail was chilling, inside and out.  I was therefore happy to see Bill walking toward me - a good reason to stop running and chat.  Bill began his morning river walks when he was diagnosed as pre-diabetic and now he is out all mornings. Bill  (a former surgeon) informs me that since more heart attacks occur on Mondays than on any other day he, that morning, tripled his daily aspirin intake.    We Read more [...]

blackberries

In 2011 I planted an assortment of raspberries and blackberries.  The raspberries failed (high heat and humidity?) the blackberries thrived.  Collectively known as brambles, raspberries can be easily identified because they have a hollow center where picked.   2015 was a good year for blackberries - I picked many and froze the surplus and now enjoy them with  oatmeal breakfasts. Blackberries propagate by tip rooting - where their long canes come down to the ground they form roots and new Read more [...]

“how’s your oatmeal?” he asked

"How's your oatmeal?" he asked and his face broadened to his ever friendly, genial grin.  Too friendly, considering he asks this question every Saturday morning when our run/walk group concludes the exercise phase and relocates to the breakfast restaurant.  This is "Bob" who recently survived a pulmonary embolism, whose specialists never raised the diet topic, and for whom a good meal is one of his life joys.  And a good meal does not include oatmeal - rather fried eggs and rashers of bacon.  Read more [...]

crazy weather

Now, 2 days after Christmas, the bees are out scavenging.  M. says wouldn't it be nice if they could find food.  I say bad idea - if they return with food to the hive, just as a dove returned to Noah's ark, it will signify good times have returned and the queen will be stimulated to egg bearing.  And with no food outside, the new bees will consume the hive's food supplies and threaten its survival. But the foraging bees have found food - the birdseed we provide for our winter dwellers (this Read more [...]

what are “pasture raised” eggs, also chicken update

During the winter, short daylight months, our chickens cease egg production and we work our way through the eggs we saved until, around mid-December we are out of eggs.  And then the offerings in the local supermarket become more appealing.  Without including photos, since upsetting folks and triggering nastiness is unnecessary, I will describe the tempting labels. Carton A - "Fresh Eggs, No Antibiotics, Organic, Non-GMO Feed, Pasture Raised, Grade A One Dozen Large Eggs, Level 4 Pasture Raised" Carton Read more [...]

feral cat – mauled chicken – and solutions

I may not have mentioned that about 5 weeks ago a hen was taken by a predator, which reduced their number to 10 (1 rooster and 9 hens).   Each morning a timer opens the coop door when the sun is well up and the chickens emerge to a 5ft high wire enclosed paddock.  Except for 2 chickens - Randa and Wanda (from wanderer) who would fly over the fence to the greener grass the other side.  Well 5 weeks ago Wanda was not to be seen except for a scattering of her feathers.  The chickens at the time Read more [...]