Thank You, Garden, Seeds, Brrr......

I want to take a moment to say thank you to two dear friends for the lovely Valentine's Day gifts. I'm not going to mention their names, they know who they are.  

 

Bulldog Man and I measured an area out back on the property, for setting up our first vegetable/fruit garden at our new place.  We decided to measure out 35 feet in width by 110 feet in length and clear out the grass with the tractor by skimming the ground.  Next we'll bring in several truck loads of potting soil and compost mixture, and add wood chips.  We will need to till the soil all together before planting seeds.  We’ve decided to start small, and gradually add more to the garden over the next couple of years.

 
In order to get the garden moving, we’ll also need to purchase additional feed lot panels,  more chicken wire, bird netting, t-posts, clips, PVC pipe, staples, and 2x4's, to use for securing our garden against the wildlife hanging around on the property.

I've already received the vegetable seeds ordered from Baker Creek and can’t wait to get them in the ground.  I also picked up from the local farm store, several organic onion slips, asparagus slips, and potato seeds for planting.

The weather hasn’t been very conducive; once again it’s taken a nose dive.  We're back to freezing temperatures with rain, sleet, and ice.  This has basically slowed the garden preparation process down to a very slow crawl......in a mud pit.  It's just too muddy to get any of the equipment in the garden area to work.   We’re expecting the same type of weather tomorrow as well.  I won't complain too much about the moisture, we really need it to help prevent the wild fires.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

That's My Toy!

Bulldog Man is learning how to use the Mebo 2.0 drone.  We purchased the Mebo drone to use in the tight spaces under the house in our crawlspace for checking on the plumbing and pipes.  This drone is capable of taking pictures and video.  It has a functioning arm and a flash light built in the center of the arm.

Why not learn how Mebo operates, and get the feel for it's controls while playing with Beans our dog.

Weather, Wood, Equipment, Baby Cora, & Dillo's

It's 5:15 PM, and the temperature has peaked at 69 degrees.  Dinner was early today, and I just finished putting dinner away in the refrigerator, washed dishes, cut apples, scooped up corn for the deer, and fed the birds (for the 2nd time today). 

I decided to take in the sunset and sit out on our front porch.  Truthfully, I just needed to rest my foot (that big black $300 boot I'm wearing).  

I sat outside watching the birds, and listening to the deer trumping through the woods, making their way to the apples and corn.

After about 25 minutes it started to get dark, and I was ready to go inside and do a little computer work (the weather is supposed to turn, meaning internet access may not be available).

Temperatures are expected to drop this evening, producing rain and ice. We've been issued a winter weather advisory.

Here's what been going on since my last post: 

Bulldog Man, Tank, and I started working on a pile of trees, which were previously cleared and stacked out back.  Bulldog Man cleared a direct pathway to the tree pile, pulled out the wood chipper, chain saw, axe, and loppers.  We all got started pulling branches, breaking them down, and feeding them into the chipper, which was intentionally set in the middle of where our vegetable garden will eventually be located.

Large pieces of wood were placed on the log splitter.   Once split, the pieces of wood were stacked in a wood pile for future use.  

*****

Last weekend, we finally were able to drive down to Texas to see our Grand Daughter, Cora for the first time.  It was good to see everyone. We had a great time visiting with our son and his wife.

While down in the DFW area we visited my sister, and had a blast. While we were out, we went to the new IKEA store, located in Grand Prairie, Texas.  We picked up a few little things for the house, and headed back to my sister's place for the evening. Even though our visit was short, it was nice.

Back at the home front Bulldog Man returned to work and we all continued the process of clearing areas of underbrush, and chopping wood.

I finally went through my seed storage and determined what seeds I want to order, and placed my order with Baker Creek and Dixiondale Farms.  

*****

The state of Oklahoma has had 129 people die from the flu so far this year.  Hospitals have been deferring patients to other hospitals.  So when Bulldog Man, on Wednesday afternoon, came home early from work looking white as a ghost with a temperature, coughing, sneezing, ear pain, and felt like he was run over by a Mack Truck, I knew he had the need to see a doctor.  

He took 2 Tylenol for the fever and went to bed.  In the middle of the night his coughing and fever got worse.  At 5:00 AM we were up getting ready to go to urgent care.  Bulldog Man was seen immediately.  The doctor did a thorough exam, asked questions, and did a rapid Influenza test.   Congratulations you have Influenza "B"; we’re going to start you on Tamiflu, and a few other meds.  You’re not to return to work until you’re done with the Tamiflu, and if you’re not feeling better in the next 2 days get back here immediately.  Bulldog Man is starting to feel better, and that's a good thing!  The flu across the United States this year is bad. If you haven't gotten a flu shot yet, get one.

In closing, Tank, while coming in the front gate of the property saw two armadillos rooting around outside the fence.  They had no fear of his presence.