Snow and Ice

We don't get a lot of snow, most winters will come and go with just a dusting.  So when the weather forecast a major snow event we didn't hold our breath.  Maybe we should have.  When it stopped we had 14 inches and were going no where.  Like I said, we don't get a lot of snow here.  That means our local government doesn't have the equipment needed to plow the streets at a rate faster then the sun will melt it.  Can anyone say Snow Day. The power stayed on and only a few small limbs fell from the trees.  

A few weeks later we had another weather event.  This one freezing rain and sleet.  All night long I listened to the CRACK and then rumble-rumble-boom as limbs and trees came down.  I prayed that our house would not be cut in half.  About 7 AM the power went out.

About 7:30 AM the power came back on for everyone except people like us who would need an electrician to put the meter back on the house.

The weight of the ice was just too much for the trees.  The pines and ceders had taken the biggest hit. Limbs had fallen on the power lines.  Our power line was on the ground and the electric meter seen above was torn from the garage.

Due to the fear we experience during storms of all kinds we made the painful decision to remove the last of the pines and the cedar next to the house.  Weather permitting they will begin the task this week.  Then we will begin the process of replanting.  But we will plant trees that provide food for wildlife and humans. Trees that flower.  Trees that don't grow to a size that should they be damaged in a storm will cause us fear.

We will still have large trees on the property but they are in what we affectionately call the back forty and to the rear of the property.  

A Harvest of Shame. The treatment of migrant workers in the USA

The shame that is migrant farming in America.

Sweat Equity

It's amazing what can be done with a lot of sweat, some hand tools and an abundance of sun.  The tomatoes in the picture below are a hybrid called Celebrity.  They are a determinate variety but don't let that fool you. They grew up to the top of a 6 foot high network of string and stakes I devised to support them and came down the other side.  It's a jungle out there.  The tomatoes are huge coming in at almost a pound each and meaty.  These with the 6 Roma's growing in the next row have given us a constant supply of tomatoes for cooking.  We pick a good 10 pounds of tomatoes every other day.

For some reason our heirloom varieties aren't doing quite as well.  In the kitchen garden I planted German Johnson, Mr. Stripy, Mortgage Maker, and Brandywine.   The biggest problem is beating the ants to the tomatoes.  If they crack the ants come in for the kill.  They seem to love tomatoes.  We had a stretch of very hot weather (100 degrees F).  Not only was it hot but dry.  I started noticing holes in the tomatoes and when I went to pick them ants would come running out of the hole.  I wonder if birds or some other animals were biting a hole in them trying to get access to the sweet fluid inside.  It's really frustrating going to pick a vine ripe tomato and finding it full of ants.  Oh well, they need it more than we do.  We can share.

Sun is a wonderful thing.  And so are Knockout roses.  They may not provide food but they are beautiful and care free.  They bloom and bloom.  Heat, humidity...nothing sees to faze them.  One of our boys thinks the rose garden is a great place to take a nap.