Woodys Rocky Ridge

I’m finally starting to feel like I’m catching up on normal springtime activities around here.  We’ve got most of the garden in.  No small feat with the weather we’ve had.  The rains have been just far enough apart to keep the ground too wet to work.  Luckily the stars aligned with the weather, work and my aching back gods to allow a window of opportunity that we pounced on.

Several late frosts did us no harm this year.  The first in three that we will have peaches.  It has been a roller coaster on the temperature here.  Friday morning it was near 38f.  Yesterday afternoon we were in the upper 80′s.

We have not planted as many tomato as we have in the past.  I’ve only started Cherokee Purple, Roma and bought four Goliath variety.  The green beans are completely volunteer this year.  Two type of beets, sweet corn, sweet potato, broccoli, Stonehead and Flat Dutch cabbage are our choices so far.  I’ve still got some sweet and hot peppers in the greenhouse to put out yet.

We have not finished our debate on squash variety yet.

It should be a good year for blackberry and grapes.  If the number of blossom and seed fruit are anything you  can depend on to estimate a harvest.

We spent yesterday at my brothers’ farm on the river.  They had a pretty good turnout for their hog roast.  Katy raised the two feeders that they cooked.  The meat was delicious!  A beautiful day with friends, family and good food.  God bless America.

 

A northbound train of rain pushed through all day yesterday and into the night.  The sky finally reappeared this morning.  Cold and wet.  The ground is like jello, the creeks are up but not out of their banks.  More rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week.

 

The rain has helped to drive the freaking tomato eating rat back into the greenhouse where it meet my mine field of traps.  One less chicken feed stealing, plant munching varmit bastard.

True spring!  Last night was chilly with patchy frost in the hollers.

The day before we were talking about finding the seasons first gray morels.  Rain in and out of the forecast with high skies in between.

I’ve spread some lime on the garden for the first time in three years and have made at least one pass with the tiller on our plots.  Cabbage, broccoli, strawberries and lettuces are planted.

I cleaned off the bean arches of last years vines.  The beans that were remaining littered the ground and already a few volunteers have come up.  I may not have to plant beans at all this year.

I’ve had an unwelcome encroachment into the green house this year.  The freaking rats that have been under the chicken house have decided to get their greens from my tomato starts.  I should have realized that they would have followed the birds into the green house since I allowed access for the chickens over the winter.  Now I’m hoping that the big ass black snake makes it back to the coop this year.  I’ll gladly surrender a few eggs for no rats.

One of my favorite spring flowers is hellebore.  An early indicator of warmer days.

After we cleaned up from the party I figured it would be about the only time in the foreseeable future that the barn would be clean and ready for its close up.

The coop still lacks a door, hardware cloth on the windows and the outside run.  Other than that it’s chicken ready.

The shops drywall has a primer on it.  That’s about as far as that will go.  I still need to trim out the windows and then I’ll be ready to move the pegboard panels and my workbench from the garage.

 

The stain glass panel that my sister gave us a couple of years ago has found its final resting place.  I’m not moving it again, unless it is in a sale.

 

One of our friends brought out some sign lights that were left unused from a commercial project.  They had been sitting in his warehouse for a year.  I think I’m going to swap out these with the two canopies that I installed on the front of the barn.  At the very least I’ll set one and take a look to see if they would look better.  I love getting free stuff!

We had our barn warming/ hog roast/fish fry/ birthday party over last weekend. My wife’s birthday present to me were the Goldmine Pickers from Goshen Indiana. One of the most talented, fun loving and friendly bunch to ever pick up a stringed instrument.

Our friend Dave Garrison roasted the hog and Rodney Medlock fried the fish and I ate almost everything that was brought in by our guests.
It was so cool to get to see so much of our family and friends. I regret that I didn’t have enough time to visit with everyone as much as I would have liked.

Hootenanny, shindig, social, revelry, hoodang, hoedown or party.  What ever works for you.  What’s your preference?

We’ve spent the week finishing up, cleaning and lining out details and praying for drier weather for a soiree here with about 250 people coming.  Hog roast/fish fry and bring a covered dish while your at it,  preferably with something in it and a bluegrass band to boot.  

Why in the hell would I want to have the headache of planning a party.  Well, someone turned fifty and said wouldn’t it be cool if we had all our friends and family out to start the second half of life.

Yes, I really did say that. 

I’m excited to hear The Goldmine Pickers on Saturday.  I’ve listened to almost their complete catalogue on Spotify and they come highly recommended by some folk who I see eye to eye with on musical taste and flavor.  In addition to the Pickers, a slew of local pickers are dropping in for an all day menu of music.

The forecast is outstanding, the hog is hanging and ready for the smoker, fish is clean and cut and ready for the fryer. 

Katy was so excited that her 4H project pigs have arrived. We made our annual pilgrimage to Nevada Missouri to take our pick from Everett Forkner. He’s quite an interesting man. Taking the time from his huge daily operations to give a gaggle of girls that are punch drunk from a three hour ride stoked with junk food, sugar and undoubtedly caffeine, to a lesson in ear notching. Retention of said lesson is yet to be tested.

She will show the Duroc barrow and Berkshire gilt this year. The two large whites that she bought are for a deal she is working out with her aunt and uncle.

We are getting so much closer to the end of the long lists for this project.  Just in time for spring!  Now if the eight  inches of snow we were blessed with yesterday will disappear we can get on with the garden.

I still have the big doors to make.  The design ideas are still just ideas.  They should be finding their way to wood shortly.